Sonic Adventure
by ShadowGenerations
Summary: Based on the Sega Dreamcast game. When Dr. Eggman unleashes an ancient force known as Chaos upon the world, Sonic, and a wide host of unforgettable characters, will face many trials in this epic tale of adventure, fate, sorrow, and personal struggle.
1. The Discovery

Sonic Adventure

**Prologue: The Discovery  
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This tale began on a gigantic island called Mystic Ruins. This ancient land was overrun with mountains, forests, and marshes, all of which contained ruins and artifacts from a civilization that existed thousands of years ago. The most prominent of these was a massive, ziggurat-like temple resting in a giant glade in a dense, green forest. Though worn and covered in patches of moss, this impressive monument to ancient history stood as tall and regal as it did in its prime. This structure had stood undisturbed for thousands of years, but today, that all changed. An excavation team of robots had been brought to the temple to uncover its hidden secrets.

These humanoid machines had short and orange round bodies. Broken into two teams, each party were carrying out a specific task. An explorer team, consisting of robots wearing helmets and carrying tools headed inside the temple. An intelligence team composed of robots utilizing various devices were working on the outside, jotting down notes and studying the surrounding area. The head of this operation was the evil scientist, Dr. Eggman. He was a tall man with an egg-shaped body and boasted a huge, wild mustache. Atop his bald head were a pair of goggles, and his eyes were forever hidden behind a pair of dark blue sunglasses. Eggman sought to rule the planet with an iron fist. Today, he hoped to find a power that would help him achieve this dream. He started by approaching the lead robot of the intelligence team.

"What is the status, E-48?" he asked.

"The explorer team has just been sent in, Doctor," replied the robot while holding a clipboard. "They're keeping me posted of any developments."

"I want an update every half-hour," the doctor ordered. "Those archives spoke of an ancient power. The secret to finding it is located somewhere in that temple, and we're not leaving until I find it."

"I'll notify the team at once, Sir," the robot heeded.

Eggman walked back to a beach chair and calmly sat himself down. He placed a laptop computer on his lap and uploaded images of archives taken from ancient texts. "4,000 years ago," he said. "An entire civilization was annihilated in a single night. This all-powerful force, responsible for the destruction, went by only one known name: 'Chaos'. According to these, this power supposedly exists to this day. By any cost, I must claim it for myself."

Far from the temple, a large two-story building rested on a large hill that overlooked the ocean. Inside, Tails, a young, two-tailed fox, was busy working in his workshop full of high-tech equipment. He was underneath a large machine, working with a wrench. His head moistened in sweat, he rolled himself out from underneath the machine and wiped his head with a cloth.

"Almost finished," he said. "Just a few more modifications and this bad boy will be ready."

There was a quick knock at the door. Tails slightly panicked. He quickly grabbed a large, black tarp on the floor and threw it over the machine. Next there was a girl's voice at the door and it sounded miffed. "Tails, open up," it demanded. "I know you're in the there!"

The little fox finished clearing things up a bit and rushed to the door to open it. Standing in the door way was a pink, girl hedgehog named Amy Rose. She had a mean look in her eyes and was tapping her foot in an impatient manner.

"Hi, Amy," Tails greeted. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"Has Sonic come back from his trip, yet?" Amy asked to which Tails responded by shaking his head. "What?" Amy shouted lividly. "How could he have been gone for so long without calling? It's bad enough he didn't want to bring me along with him, but now he doesn't even have the decency to call me or at least write? How does he expect us to work on our relationship if he can't even keep in touch?"

Tails just stood there, cowering in the face of a woman scorned. He mustered up some needed courage and quickly responded, "You know Sonic, Amy. He never stays in one place for very long. He's constantly on the move."

Amy was not well pleased with that answer. "Well, I hope he knows what he's missing," she said with her arms folded. "If he comes back, tell him Amy Rose is looking for him."

Keeping that mind, Tails bid farewell to her. He closed the door behind her and heaved out a sigh of relief. He walked over to a table with a framed photo of himself, Sonic, Amy and Knuckles sitting on it and held it up. _Sonic, _he thought. _Where ever you are, I hope you're having a good time, but things just haven't been the same without you._ He put it down and went back to work.

Things continued at a slow pace at the temple excavation. Sunset had set upon them, turning the sky around it a bright orange. Now impatient, Eggman stood up from his chair and bellowed, "E-48!"

Sensing the anger in that tone, E-48 quickly ran to his master like there was no tomorrow.

"Status update," Eggman ordered. "And for your sake, it had better be good."

"Good news, Doctor," E-48 said in a frightened tone. "Our explorer team has found something they think you'll want to see. Follow me."

E-48 lead Eggman up the long flight of stone stairs leading to the entrance of the temple. Once inside, it was like they've been transported to another world. The interior of the temple was much larger and spacious than its outside appearance would tell. Their journey began down a flight of darkened steps, illuminated only by E-48's helmet light. The whole way down, Eggman was brimming with enthusiasm. After passing through a long corridor, they entered a large and spacious chamber in the deepest levels of the temple. The atmosphere in this room was still and quiet and felt as if there was an unseen presence flowing within. The only thing heard were tiny ripples in the water that filled the floor. As Eggman walked along the paved walkway, several torches lined at the edges mystically lit up in succession. He approached the giant wall at the end of the room. He shone a flashlight on it, and suddenly became awestruck by what he found. Covering the entire wall was a huge and highly detailed mural sculpted in it.

"Magnificent," Eggman declared.

The mural depicted a powerful looking, dragon-like sea monster destroying what looked like an ancient city.

"Doctor," said one of the robots, directing him to something underneath the mural. "Look at this."

It was something written in a strange language.

"What does it say?" Eggman asked.

"It took a while," the robot replied. "But we were able to translate it. It says 'Chaos is power. Power enriched by the heart.' "

"Chaos," Eggman uttered with a gleam in his eye. "This is it. This is the power I have been searching for. Quickly, I want everything recorded and taken back. Call HQ and tell them to prepare the ship. Once I awaken this power, the world will face a terror the likes which haven't been seen for over 4,000 years."

In his moment of utter and sinister excitement, he let out a maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the chambers of the temple. The villainous doctor was about to unleash his most diabolical plan yet.


	2. Total Chaos

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 1: Total Chaos**

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Angel Island floated serenely in its home above the clouds. The crescent moon in the night sky gleamed down upon the island, bathing it in its lunar light. Like Mystic Ruins, this place seethed with a mystical aura that was steeped in ancient history. Unfortunately, the serenity this island exuded was about to be disturbed by the presence of massive, flying ship that was slowly approaching on a hill at the base of a giant mountain laid the remains of a shrine made of stone. Like the temple, the structure was thousands of years old, but stood as firm as ever. Resting in the center of this sacred construct on an altar was huge and magnificent green jewel called the Master Emerald. In the night air, its shining aura illuminated the surrounding area like a giant lantern. Relaxing on the shrine's steps was Knuckles, a red echidna. A loner for most of his life, Knuckles had lived on this island since birth. As he gazed up at the star lit sky, he contemplated the meaning of his life. _For years now, _he thought. 

_I've been living here on this lonely island, always guarding the Master Emerald from anything that threatened it. I often wonder why I was chosen for this job. What the point of it all is. I guess only time will tell. _

Knuckles soon fell asleep right there on the steps. A blanket of dark thunderclouds mysteriously appeared in the sky, shrouding it in ominous darkness. Flashes of lightning and thunderous booms invaded the once calm night air, and amongst the elemental disturbances, a loud, glass-shattering noise was heard.

Knuckles quickly woke and sat up, his heart racing. "What was that?" he wondered.

He fixed his eyes toward the top of the shrine and saw a dozen points of light fly from the top and into the sky in many directions. Sensing trouble, he immediately dashed up the steps. Reaching the top, a look of shock and horror hit his face. The Master Emerald had been destroyed, and standing in front of its shattered remains was a frightening, 5ft, humanoid creature known only as Chaos 0. This thing was unlike anything Knuckles had ever laid eyes on. It had two big, emotionless, green eyes and its body was entirely composed of living water with a visible brain. Floating above this monstrous entity was a sparkling red orb of light that mysteriously vanished as quickly as it appeared. Cautious, but full of anger, Knuckles held up his large, spiked fists in a fighting stance.

"What are you?" he demanded the creature. "What did you do to the Master Emerald?"

Chaos 0 responded by raising its arms in the air in a threatening manner.

"You destroyed it, didn't you?" Knuckles inquired. "That's a mistake that's going to cost you big time!"

With a loud battle cry, Knuckles attacked Chaos 0 by throwing his mighty fist forward. The watery creature wound his head back before lunging it forward, bouncing Knuckles back with a head butt. The wild echidna skid backwards, but he was far from giving up. He charged at the creature again for another strike. Chaos 0 countered him again by jumping high up into the sky. Knuckles stopped on the spot and watched with awe. The enigmatic life-form hanged in the air for about a second before he came crashing down at Knuckles' feet. The red guardian was blown back by the shock wave, and sent tumbling down the steps.

Knuckles hit the ground, but managed to pull himself up, saying, "This thing is strong,". Armed with a high endurance level, he stood to his feet, already recovered. "But so am I," he followed. He raced back up the steps, ready to face this new threat again. However, Chaos 0 appeared uninterested in this skirmish. In a display of its remarkable shape-shifting abilities, he morphed his body into a living puddle of water and vanished from sight by sinking into the ground. Knuckles tried to catch it before it did so.

"Coward!" Knuckles shouted. "Get back here and fight?"

Knuckles soon had other, more urgent, things on his mind. Following the Master Emerald's destruction, Angel Island shook fiercely, nearly throwing Knuckles to the ground.

"Oh, no!" he cried. "It's starting to happen! The Master Emerald's power keeps this island in the sky! Without it, it'll plunge right into the ocean!"

Its source of power gone, Angel Island was no longer able to sustain its flight. It soon began to fall from its home. Roaring as it rapidly plummeted through the clouds, the giant island crashed into the ocean near the cliffs of Mystic Ruins. A huge wave of water births from the impact and washes over the sea before calmly silencing.

In the forest, not far from the crash site, a large, rotund, light-purple cat, named Big, soundly slept on a wooden bed underneath a hut. The island's crash shook the nearby land. The tremors woke a little, green frog sleeping on Big's round and furry white belly. He noticed something stirring in the bushes. _Rriibbit?_ Curious, he jumped off his sleeping friend and hopped over to the rousing bushes to take a peek. Curiosity was about to get the better of him. A little puddle of water dropped out of the bushes. The frog didn't know exactly what to make of it and just stared at it. The puddle slowly slithered towards him as if it had a mind of it's own. Before the little amphibian had time to react to such a strange phenomenon, the puddle leapt at the little frog, aiming for his mouth. The frog swallowed the creepy liquid into his body which then squirmed about as the tiny invader tried to overtake it. After it took over, a long and pointy tail sprouted from his body.

At that moment, Big's large, pointy ears twitched, waking him up. "Froggy?" he mumbled in a deep, low voice while rubbing his eyes. He let out a big yawn, and looked down at Froggy. Though still half asleep, he quickly noticed something different about him. "Am I seeing things, Froggy?" he asked. "You have a tail."

The little amphibian ignored Big, his eyes changed into something unrecognizable to Big. He leapt onto a wooden table where a small, yellow jewel laid upon. Its glowing aura seemed to attract Froggy like a moth to a light. Apparently under the influence of the eerie invader, Froggy shot out his long, sticky tongue and snatched up the jewel, swallowing it whole.

"Hey, Froggy!" cried Big. "You ate our lucky charm!"

Froggy then jumped off the table and scampered away.

"Come back here, Froggy!" hollered Big as he chased after his little friend through the forest.

Resided near the ocean, not too far from Mystic Ruins, was a massive and bustling metropolis called Station Square. This wondrous city was famous for its many attractions such as an amusement park named Twinkle Park, a beach hotel resort called Emerald Coast, and a giant casino named Casinopolis just to name a few. The city connected to Mystic Ruins through the use of a transit system as well as an extremely long suspension bridge. As of today, the city was estimated to have a human population of over 30,000,000 residents. It truly was a wonderful place to live. Most of the residents in this urban paradise were just now turning their days in. A girl and her mother were strolling down a sidewalk when the little girl stared up at a lit lamppost, watching moths flutter around it. "Look, mommy," she said with a perky tone.

"Yes, dear," replied her mother who was paying more attention to the sky . "But we had better get home fast. Some nasty weather is coming."

She took her child along and continued down the sidewalk, but not before the little girl caught a quick glimpse of a blue streak zip by. In another part of the city, the world-famous hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, was jumping from building to building with amazing speed and agility. Shouting with excitement, he perched himself on the roof top of one tall building to overlook the city he hasn't seen in months.

"Oh, yeah!" he whooped. "It feels great to be back!"

A sudden and loud crash in the nearby area occurred, disrupting Sonic's homecoming. A helicopter with its searchlight on flew by a few moments later, followed by the mysterious light that emerged from the broken Master Emerald. Both were headed towards the disturbance. Rather than be disappointed, Sonic was all too eager to know what was going on. "First day back and already there's action?" he says with excitement. "Awesome." He jumped from the rooftop and fell to the streets below, landing on his feet. From there, he sped forward, using his famous supersonic speed, with a trail of blue light left his wake.

Meanwhile, a crowd gathered near the City Hall building. A team of SWAT police had been called in to handle the crisis that was taking place. They had roadblocks place around the area to keep the people at bay. The source of this troubling disturbance was standing at the top of the building. The mysterious, liquid life form, Chaos 0, had somehow made his way to Station Square, but for what purpose? His presence has brought a fierce thunderstorm that boomed in the sky. A light rain started to fall, drenching everybody below. Amidst it all, the helicopter flew overhead and shone its spotlight on the creature.

The chief stepped forward, holding up a megaphone. "Come down from there!" he ordered.

Chaos 0 jumped off the building and landed, facing the police force. The crowd stepped back, fearing what was going to happen next. By the chief's signal, the police rushed ahead and formed a horizontal line in front of the creature. They then deployed their firearms.

"Don't fire until I say so, men," the chief instructed. "Alright, whatever you are, freeze and surrender yourself!"

Chaos 0 ignored the chief officer, and continued to advance.

The officer was dead serious this time. "Stop!" he screamed into the megaphone. "Or we will shoot!"

The tension this situation was creating was a little too much for one particular officer to deal with. In an instant of fright, he fired his gun. The sound of the gunshot stunned the area. What shocked them even more was Chaos 0 who stood completely unharmed despite being shot at such a close range. The bullet was inside the creature's very body. Angered by this attack on his life, the Chaos 0's brain glowed with a pulsating, red light. He grabbed a hold of a lamppost with one hand and pulled it straight out of the concrete with little effort. Holding the long, metal post like a make-shift bat, he ambled up to a car. He raised it above his head and brung it down with heavy force, smashing and utterly destroying the vehicle. This single act was enough to induce mass panic among the crowd. Everybody screamed and hollered in fear. They all tried to scatter and run away, to get as far away from the terrible monster as possible.

"FIRE!" commanded the chief.

Every armed police officer fired their guns without hesitation. Streams of bullet fire struck the creature, but it was all in vain. Every bullet fired was instead absorbed into the monster's body. Seeing the futility in this, the chief ordered them to halt. Hundreds of bullet caps spilled out of Chaos 0 and piled up at his feet. It was now his turn to attack, and he was mad. The police force backed away in terror as Chaos 0 was about to unleash his wrath. But at that moment, a ray of hope arrived. Sonic jumped into the scene, in front of the police. Chaos 0 stopped in his tracks at the appearance of this new contender.

"What do we have here?" Sonic asked with a grin. "I suggest you get lost before somebody gets hurt."

Chaos 0 wasn't about to let someone half his size get in his way. He held his hand up and discharged a powerful blast of water from it. Armed with lightning fast reflexes, Sonic jumped into the air causing the blast to fly right past three police officers. It struck a car with pulverizing force, blasting it into two pieces. Sonic came down from the air and landed on the creature's head. Chaos 0 was toppled over as Sonic bounced himself off of his head, and up on the City Hall building.

"Retreat, men!" the chief ordered. "Fall back! Fall back!"

They and everyone else left backed away some distance. Sonic was now left to fend off Chaos 0's assault without the risk of someone getting hurt. Chaos 0 crouched down and launched himself up at Sonic. The speedy hedgehog soared over him just he swung his arm in slashed the building with his hand, shattering a piece of it instead. Hanging onto the edge of the building, he shot down more blasts of water. Sonic zipped around the battle field, easily avoiding the creature's attacks. The ground soon became littered with holes punched in by the blasts .

"You'll have to do much better than that!" the cocky hedgehog boasted.

He then turned on the offensive, running up the side of the building. He then rolled himself into a tight ball, gaining more speed. Chaos 0 was struck by Sonic's attack and knocked off his perch. He crashed into to the ground hard with a loud smash. Sonic hanged onto the edge of the city hall building to see if the monster was down for the count, but all he could see was a cloud of dust. Suddenly, a watery arm darted out from the cloud and stretched itself straight at Sonic with an alarming speed that even Sonic himself was unable to react in time to. Caught in Chaos 0's grip, Sonic was hoisted up into the air before being slammed face-first into the ground.

"Aaaghh!" he groaned.

Chaos 0 still held Sonic in his grasp and lifted the injured hedgehog out of the impression his body made in the ground. He then pinned his weakened prey against the side of the city hall building and raised his other arm, preparing to hit Sonic with a blast at point blank. This attack was sure to end Sonic once and for all. Unable to bear such a thought, the police decided to join together to help Sonic. They charge at the deadly monster, but are stopped by Sonic shouting, "Stay back!" He adamantly refused to beaten. "It ain't over yet, you big drip," he moaned.

With his remaining strength, Sonic forced his body into a rolling spin. A layer energy formed around him, generated by the sheer velocity. Chaos 0 was unable to withstand this force, and his arm was dispersed from his body. He pulled backwards in shock, but it was too late. Sonic had now unleashed his full power and, still in spin form, smashed himself straight into Chaos 0. The liquid life form was hit with an attack so powerful, his entire body was destroyed, reduced to thousands of droplets that hit the ground. Among his many remains was his brain. Sonic watched as the organ glowed red. Like a beacon, it drew all of the droplets together on the spot. Reformed into a puddle, the weakened chaos monster slid across the ground and retreated into a storm drain. Sonic stood over it while scratching his head, befuddled by what he thought was the one of the strangest night of his life.

Unbeknownst to him and pretty much everyone else, standing on top of a nearby building was Dr. Eggman. Quiet and out of sight, the doctor had witnessed the entire event.

"Sonic, you fool," he quietly said. "You have no idea the power you're up against. Chaos, the God of Destruction, will be your sound undoing."


	3. The Coming Storm

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 2: The Coming Storm**

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The sun rose over the horizon, bringing the morning's first early light. In the streets of Station Square, the lampposts were still lit. Knuckles stood at the edge of the city, overlooking the ocean. With its fresh scent blowing through his nose, he recalled last night's incident.

"The Master Emerald," he said. "It was destroyed right in front of me. I failed to protect it."

Floating above him was the mysterious light, watching Knuckles sulk. Knuckles took notice of it and watched as it circled the air before flying straight into the city.

"I couldn't prevent its destruction," Knuckles said, still looking in its direction, "But I can at least try to restore it and Angel Island to their former glory. To do that, I find must the pieces. They say a journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step. This is a good place to start."

He took charge at this point and begun his arduous task. The light observed him and spoke with a soft, feminine voice. _Good luck_. Knuckles walked the early streets, eyeing the light in the sky as if it was guiding him. It led the echidna to the city hall district. Due to the events that took place here last night, the area was blocked off to the public. Police officers were patrolling the area. Knuckles felt a strange sensation coming from its general direction and marched himself over, regardless. Two police officers showed up to halt his progress.

"Hold up there, buddy," one of the officers said. "This area is off limits."

"What for?" Knuckles asked.

"This area was attacked by a freaky monster last night," the other officer explained.

While the officer kept talking, all Knuckles could think about was the creature. _That thing escaped me and came all the way out here,_ he thought. _It's going to regret the day it ever crossed me._

"But then," the officer continued. "Sonic showed up at the last second and beat that thing into retreat. No one knows if it'll show up again anytime soon, but next time, we'll be prepared."

"Thanks," Knuckles said, not interested in the rest. "I'll just be going now."

He turned and walked away still thinking about Chaos 0. _That monster will get what's coming to it soon enough,_ _but first thing's first._ That weird sensation hit him again, like something was calling to him. The light appears to him again and signaled him to follow it. Knuckles ran over to the side of a tall building where the light was waiting for him. It then flew upward to the rooftop. _This way! _it called. This strange illuminating entity knew something. Knuckles dug the spikes on his fists into the side of the building and repeated, scaling up the edifice like a mountain climber.

Meanwhile, in Mystic Ruins, the young fox, Tails was about to test one of his machines. Two large backdoors opened up to a long airstrip, stretched above the ocean. Tails then rolled out, riding in large shiny, silver-colored biplane.

"Alright," he eagerly said. "If I've done everything to the letter, this prototype test flight should be simple." He pulled down a lever and the plane was propelled forward. It ran off the airstrip and ascended into the sky. "Take off, perfect," Tails said. "Now, let's see how well it can maneuver in the air."

He rounded a giant rocky spire jutting out the ocean with perfect precision. Flying at sound speed, Tails soared over the ocean, seeing a school of dolphins swimming below him.

"Awesome," he expressed. "Let's take a little tour over Station Square."

In said city, Big was walking down a sidewalk. Having lost trail of his little friend, Froggy, he was desperately trying to find him for fear of something bad happening to him in what he called a chaotic jungle.

"Froggy!" he called out. "Froggy? Ohhh, where could my little pal be?"

A little boy ambled up to him from behind and tapped him with his finger. Big sharply turned around. "Froggy?" he said with a hopeful smile, but alas, his hope was dashed when he saw the boy instead. "You're not Froggy," he sorrowed.

"What's a 'Froggy', Mister?" the young boy asked.

"He's my best friend," Big replied. "He's a little frog with a long tail. Have you seen him?"

"Sorry, Mister," the boy shook his head.

The big feline sunk his head, his depression growing by the minute. But never one to give up on his friends, he moved on. Turning around a corner, he spotted the little polliwog hopping around in a patch of grass. "Froggy!" he rejoiced. Acting on impulse, he ran towards Froggy. The little frog saw him coming, however, and leapt over the lumbering cat just as he reached for him. Big's large frame to hit the ground with a loud thud while Froggy made his getaway into an open manhole. Big was left laying on the ground, moping.

"Oh, Froggy," he sobbed. "Why are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?"

He managed to pull himself up off the ground, no longer wanting to wallow in his misery. Determined to bring his friend back, he followed Froggy's trail, or lack thereof.

Knuckles glid through the air above the streets behind the city hall. He was still following the light.

"This light," he wondered. "Where did it come from? Whatever it is, it seems to know something about the Master Emerald."

He looked ahead. In sight was a tall bell tower. Knuckles reached the tower and latched onto the side. From that point, he climbed upward and leapt onto the rooftop with the giant, golden bell. He ducked underneath it and found a shimmering fragment the size of a large stone levitating in the air, much to his astonishment. Knuckles felt this as an indication that the Master Emerald itself was still alive in some sense. He then took hold of the shard and watched as it shined in his hand for about an instant.

"I promise," he declared. "I will do everything in my power to bring you back."

He came out from underneath the bell and looked his eyes up at the mysterious light. It vigorously circles around before disappearing. Knuckles put the shard into a brown sack, before turning away. He jumped of the bell tower in another direction and glided away.

Tails appeared in the sky, above Station Square. The plane was still flying as smooth as ever.

"This test flight has done excellent so far," he said. "A quick sweep over the city, and I'll call it a day."

Before he was able change the plane's direction, it suddenly shook hard, startling the young fox. "What was that?" he gulped.

The plane shook even harder the next time, and smoke began pouring out through the control panel. Black smoke subsequently followed, spewing out from the engine. "My power supply!" Tails exclaimed. "It must be overloading the system!" He was soon screaming for his life when the plane started violently swirling wildly around, leaving a smoking trail filling the sky. At the Emerald Coast hotel, Sonic was relaxing by a large swimming pool on the patio. Laying back on a beach chair, the calm air, and fresh scent of the ocean calming his spirit, he couldn't have been more cozy.

"Boy, does this feel great," he said as he stretched his limbs. "After tangling with whatever that freak was last night, a hero could use a long nap."

As he begun to nod off, he was quickly alerted by faint screams of panic. He looked up in the sky and saw a silver plane swerving out of control. Other people hanging at the pool were also witnessing the situation.

"What in the world is that?" pondered a man.

"He's going to crash!" screamed a woman.

"Is that…?" Sonic paused. "Tails! Holy cow!" He instantly forgot all about his break and burst from his chair. From there, he raced onto the sandy beach, passing by everybody with sharp reflexes. "Hang on, little buddy!" Sonic said, eyeing the plane as he sped.

Tails' plane started to drop from the air and careen towards the ground.

"I'm going down!" he cried as he covered his eyes with his hands.

Running at top speed, Sonic spin-rolled and bounced himself off of the ground like a big, rubber ball. A giant killer whale jumped out of the ocean at the exact moment of Sonic's take off. Right before the plane was about to crash, Sonic reached it, grabbed Tails, and jumped off in all but a few seconds. The plane crashed into the sand, violently exploding into pieces. Sonic shielded Tails and himself from the metal debris that was flying in every direction. Once most of the dust cleared, a tower of thick, black smoke was seen rising from the rubble and into the sky. A frightened and quivering Tails opened his eyes and found himself under the arm of his hero, Sonic.

"Sonic!" he joyfully shouted. "Is it really you?"

Sonic set his friend down and proudly said, "The one and only. Long time no see, buddy."

"I'm so glad you're back, Sonic," Tails said. "It's been rather dull around here since you left."

Sonic smiled at his young friend, then looked over at the smoldering remains of the plane, wondering how such a thing could've happened. "What happened here, Tails?" he asked while scratching his head with one finger. "You're too good of a pilot for something like this to happen."

"I was testing a new propulsion system," Tails bashfully replied. "But, apparently, there are still a few details that need to be ironed out. I'm trying to design a new, high-functioning plane with state-of-the-art capabilities. When its finished, it'll fly circles around your plane."

He then took out and held up a violet-colored, glowing jewel and said, "Check out my new power supply."

"Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed. "That's a Chaos Emerald. How did you get a hold of one of those?"

"I found this Chaos Emerald during one of my test flights," Tails answered while looking at his treasure. "It dawned on me to build something that can harness its energy. Using the power of this emerald, my new plane will be faster and well equipped with cutting-edge technology. Eggman won't stand a chance against us."

"Looks like you've been very busy these past few months," Sonic chuckled.

"You have to come to my workshop and see for yourself," Tails said.

This was certainly something Sonic wanted to see with his own eyes, and was all too eager to get moving. He took Tails' hand and sped into the city.

Big's hard search had lead him to the city's amusement park called Twinkle Park at the edge of the city. From inside, an advanced holographic generator device rendered the entire sky dark and full of twinkling stars. That's how the park got its name. Walking amongst all the people enjoying their time here, he called out Froggy's name. "Froggy! I saw you hop in here, little buddy. Where are you?"

"Aauughh!" a woman suddenly screamed. "There's a frog in the water!"

That caught Big's immediate attention and made a mad dash through the crowd of people. When he reached the source of the screams, to his pleasant surprise, he saw Froggy swimming in the huge swimming pool near the Twinkle Castle building.

"Froggy," he reproved. "This is no time to be swimming. I'm taking you back home with me."

He took out his favorite fishing rod that he always carried in a sheath strapped to his back, and faced downward. A little boy was standing next to him, eating cherry-topped ice-cream cone. He, politely, took the cherry off the little boy's ice cream cone and hooked it on his line. Big then pulled back before casting the line into the water. While he waited, Froggy calmly swam underneath the water until he saw the cherry. Surprisingly, its alluring and appetizing appearance was too much for even the force controlling Froggy to overpower. He kicked his little legs back, propelling him towards the delectable treat. In range, he bit onto the cherry and tugged. Big took quick action and pulled on his fishing rod to snatch Froggy out.

"I got you, Froggy!" Big taunted.

The will inside Froggy's body endowed him with a bizarre amount of strength as it enabled him to pull against Big, despite the vast and obvious size difference. Big was reasonably baffled by such.

"How'd you get so strong?" he struggled.

It was the most unusual game of tug-of-war that anybody has ever seen. Everybody around him watched with disbelief in their widen eyes as Big struggled against someone the size of a child's shoe. Eventually, the larger competitor won this strange contest, though perhaps a little too much. Big's impressive strength got the better of him. He pulled his line out of the water, with Froggy still attached, with such force, that Froggy was flung high into the air.

"Froggy!" Big cried as his little friend was sent flying over him in the air.

The helpless frog soon landed on a man's lunch plate on a table near a concessions stand.

"What the..?" the man said, startled.

_Rrriibbiit, _Froggy croaked while covered in food. He saw Big running towards him and hastily hopped away, to the front entrance of the park. He jumped over the gate, escaping Big once again.

"Froggy," Big wailed. "What's wrong with you?"

Though greatly saddened by Froggy's most unusual behavior, he wouldn't give up on his closest friend. He ran past the gate, exiting the park. Up in the sky, the mysterious light had been watching the whole time.

After arriving in Mystic Ruins, Tails lead Sonic up the hill where his workshop was. Sonic observed Tails' high-tech abode and whistled in amazement.

"You really have been busy," he commended

"Its right in here," said Tails as he rushed to the door.

Before he could open it, however, a strange humming sound was heard followed by a malevolent laughter. They turned around and faced upward just as Dr. Eggman dropped down, riding in a large, armored, flying vehicle. This menacing contraption was equipped with a trio of giant thrusters and a missile launcher stationed on the back.

"It's Dr. Eggman!" Tails exclaimed.

"Greetings, Sonic," said Eggman. "It's been a while since we've seen each other. I trust you had a pleasant trip?"

"It was, actually," Sonic replied as though Eggman were a good friend. " I hear you've been rather quiet since I've been away. Don't tell me it was because you missed me."

"Get real," Eggman scoffed. "You couldn't have picked a better time to return. My ultimate plan has been set in motion. And this time, you won't be able to stop me."

Sonic and Tails rolled their eyes at his declaration. Having fought against Eggman so many times in the past, today was nothing new to them.

"Was else is new," Tails jeered.

Eggman happened to look down at Tails and saw the Chaos Emerald in his hand. His mouth curved into a grin. "I see you got a Chaos Emerald," he said. "Such a powerful item is useless in the hands of a child. Fork it over, at once."

"As if, Doc," Sonic dared.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Eggman chuckled. "Prepare yourselves! Egg Hornet, GO!"

Sonic stood his ground and gladly accepted Eggman's challenge. The evil doctor was more than happy to oblige him. He revved up his vehicle and swooped down at the duo like a bird of prey. Sonic and Tails quickly jumped out of the way on opposite sides. Eggman flew back up into the sky and deployed the Egg Hornet's twin launchers, releasing a barrage of small, but explosive missiles. "Take this!" he exclaimed.

The missiles all locked on to Sonic who jumped into a spin-roll. Protected in this form, Sonic proceeded to fly through the air, striking all the missiles himself one-by-one. Explosion after explosion, the sky was lit up like fireworks. Afterwards, Sonic dropped down to the ground on one knee and looked up at Eggman with a most smug smile.

"I actually missed the days of me whipping your sorry butt," he boasted.

"Those days are over!" Eggman proclaimed. In his haste, he threw a lever and an orange, glowing shield of energy formed around the Egg Hornet. "All systems, full power!" he exclaimed as he nosedived straight at Sonic. The Egg Hornet crashed into the ground and protruded twin large, metal spikes that viciously jabbed into the earth. Swift rushes of dirt were thrown in the air like lava exploding from a volcano.

Poor Tails presumed Sonic was on the end of this nasty attack, and could only watch with a look of horror on his face. "Sonic!" he cried in fright.

As Eggman wildly laughed at his assumed victory, Sonic suddenly burst out of the ground behind the Egg Hornet in a surprise attack.

"Missed me!" Sonic chuckled.

"What the..?" Eggman shrieked.

Sonic spin-rolled and shot down hard at Eggman, slamming himself into the doctor's machine. The attack shattered the vehicle's armored components, leaving only Eggman's personal flying chariot, the Eggmobile, behind. Defeated, the villain dropped to the ground like a ton of bricks.

"That was fun," Sonic wiped his hands as he walked over to Tails.

"Way to go, Sonic!" his young ward praised.

While Sonic and Tails had their backs turned, Eggman saw this as his only window of opportunity. A light glared across his sunglasses as he hopped back up in the Eggmobile. With a sly chuckle, he extended a fast-moving, mechanical arm from the Eggmobile that stretched its way over to Tails. With surprising quickness, it snatched the Chaos Emerald right from the fox's hand. The arm then retracted and delivered the powerful jewel straight into Eggman's hand.

"He's got the Chaos Emerald!" cried Tails.

"That was a dirty trick, Eggman!" Sonic scolded.

Eggman never was one to play by the rules. "You sound surprised," he laughed while he victoriously held up his shining treasure. "Come, Chaos! I have a little snack for you!"

A name neither Sonic nor Tails ever heard before. As they wondered who their arch-nemesis was referring to, a puddle of water slid in from nowhere. Much to Sonic's surprise, the puddle shape-shifted, assuming the form of Chaos 0. Sonic tensed up the moment he appeared. "I see you didn't get enough of a whooping the last time," he said, taking up battle stance.

Today's encounter would be much different than last time. Eggman tossed the creature the Chaos Emerald. Chaos 0 clutched the jewel tightly in his hand and absorbed it directly into his body. The powerful energies contained within it caused his body to undergo a startling evolution. His entire body glowed with a brilliant white light. Egggman and the others watched as the monster's form begun reshaping. From out of the light, Chaos 0 emerged as a new creature called Chaos 1. He had increased slightly in height with his right arm longer and bulkier. Skeletal bones traveled down the arm, and the Chaos Emerald was embedded in his right hand.

"This so can't be good," Sonic uttered with a stunned expression.

Eggman, on the other hand, was ecstatic beyond belief. "Oh, yes!" exclaimed in an excited tone. "It's just like the ancient inscriptions said! You see before you the extraordinary power my new pet, Chaos, possesses. With every Chaos Emerald we continue to find, he evolves, becoming more and more powerful with each one. Once we get all 7, he will become the strongest force this world has ever known. A force under my complete control. Station Square, and soon the entire planet, will become a part of the most powerful empire in the galaxy."

"Dream on, Eggman!" Sonic lividly doubted.

"This is no longer a dream," Eggman said. "You're in way over your head this time, Sonic. Stay out of my way or I will crush you under the full weight of the power I have obtained. Come, Chaos. Let's go find us another Chaos Emerald."

With that, Eggman threw something to the ground and a giant, brutal flash of white light sprang forth. Sonic and Tails shielded their eyes from the harsh brilliance. A few moments later, the light faded, and their sight slowly returned. By the time their vision cleared, though, Eggman and Chaos 1 were gone.

"Eggman has seriously raised the stakes on the playing field," Sonic said. "We can't allow that thing to get any stronger."

"We need to find the remaining 6 Chaos Emeralds," Tails proposed. "They're the key. If we can get to them before Eggman, that monster won't be able further evolve."

"Alright," Sonic excitedly agreed. "We have our game plan. Look out, Eggman!"

A new adventure was just over the horizon. Armed with their wits and strategy, the two heroes set out to find the Chaos Emeralds.


	4. Night at the Casino

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 3: Night at the Casino**

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Before they could get started, Sonic wondered what the first move should be.

"I think I know," Tails said. "When my prototype started to malfunction, I noticed the Chaos Emerald was acting weird. It was glowing really bright. In the heat of the moment, I thought it was just being overloaded. But maybe it was reacting to another Chaos Emerald in the area. We should head back to Station Square."

"Then let's get started," Sonic said. "We should probably take the Tornado. Is it inside?"

"Sure is," Tails replied. "Wait out here."

The young foxboy ran into his garage. Standing on a metal, circular platform was a large, red biplane with silver wings and Sonic's name written in big, white letters across the tail on both sides. Tails hopped into the pilot seat and remotely opened the garage door. The airstrip slid out like it did earlier and the Tornado followed, ready for takeoff. Sonic rushed himself over to the plane and jumped up, placing himself firmly on the wings.

"Full speed ahead, Tails!" he directed.

The Tornado ran down the runway and lifted off of the ground, ascending higher and higher. The heroic duo were soon flying over the crystal blue ocean. Sonic maintained his stance on the wings despite the strong winds pushing against him.

By the time, they reached Station Square, the sun had set on the horizon, blanketing the entire city with an orange radiance. They soared overhead with Tails trying to find a suitable place to land the plane. Sonic looked around and found a perfect spot. "Take'er down there, Tails," he instructed.

Following, Tails steered the Tornado over in the direction of the Emerald Coast resort. They fly over the hotel and descended downward towards the beaches in the far distance. They touched down on the ground and ran across the sand before coming to a stop. They then jumped out and stare at the city with a look of determination. Before they got started, Tails dug into the plane's seat and pulled out a pair of handheld devices.

"The city's a huge place," he explained as he handed one to Sonic. "Our best option is for us to split up. We can use these transceivers to stay in contact."

"Nifty," Sonic smiled. "Last one to find a Chaos Emerald's a rotten Eggman!" He blasted, leaving Tails behind in a cloud of dust.

Tails saw the trail lead into in the city and sighed at Sonic's somewhat lack of maturity. He spun his twin namesakes together like the blades of a helicopter and lifted himself off the ground, flying under his own power. The crafty fox then flew high into the sky and entered the city in another direction.

Knuckles glid over the night fallen Station Square, hoping to find more pieces of the Master Emerald. He's had no such luck so far.

"Was this the only piece in the city?" he wondered.

He soon began to lose altitude and was forced to make a necessary stop. He dropped down to the ground, unknowingly in the casino district of the city. He stood in front of a huge building adorned with many bright colorful, lights and big, bright, white letters that spelled "CASINOPOLIS" mounted above the front entrance. Its bright lights illuminated the area like a like an indoor stadium. As Knuckles observed the colorful edifice, the mysterious ball of light flew down from the sky and appeared before Knuckles again.

"Hey," Knuckles pleasantly said. "Its you again."

The light flew over to the Casinopolis building and danced around the air in front of it. Knuckles then felt the same sensation he got before he found the first shard. That was more than enough to entice him to check out the place.

"There must be more pieces inside that building," he inquired.

Following his sharp senses, he entered the giant casino. Inside was a bright, dazzling, and colorful world. Dozens of slot machines and card tables pervaded the huge room. Tall pillars were neatly arranged in circumference throughout. On one side of the room stood a huge and flowing fountain and a trio of multicolored spotlights shone down, waving around. In the center of the room was a huge glass circle with a spinning roulette wheel underneath. In the center of the circle stood a huge, raised platform. Standing on it was the casino's centerpiece: A giant, golden statue of Sonic.

Knuckles walked among the many people enjoying their time here and approached the statue with a blunt look of his face.

"You have got to be kidding me," he scoffed. "As if that egomaniac doesn't have a swelled enough head already."

He turned his head to the left and spotted the light. It signaled him over and flew down a hall.

Knuckles followed the bright entity to a ladder leading somewhere down under. The feeling grew stronger, and Knuckles was left with no choice. He climbed down the ladder, winding up in an underground network of tunnels where disposable garbage was stored.

"What is this place?" he wondered, slightly grossed out. How did one of the Master Emerald pieces end up in this festering hole?"

He looked around and saw that the light has disappeared somewhere.

"Guess I'm on my now," he said. The feeling was stronger than ever down here as was his resolve.

Sonic ran through the city, avoiding every person in his way. He stopped near a traffic light halting many automobiles at the intersection. As he looked around he thought to himself, _If I were a Chaos Emerald, where would I hide?_ While he pondered what the answer to his own question was, the mysterious light appeared above him_. _In the night air, its glow was hard to miss. Sonic caught it dancing around in the air before taking off, down the street.

"Well," Sonic said with his hand on his chin. "If that doesn't look suspicious, I don't know what does."

He followed his instincts and went after the light. The light flew towards a hotel. Sonic entered the lobby and spotted the light headed out the back way. As he slowly ran through the lobby, the bell captain at the front desk stopped him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sonic?" the young man said. "Would you like to check in for the night?"

"Sorry," Sonic declined. "Don't have the time. Got a world to save." He exited the hotel through the back door entrance, entering the casino district. The light was seen floating in front of Casinopolis.

"I wonder," Sonic speculated. "Could that, what ever it is, be leading me to a Chaos Emerald?"

Taking a chance, he held up his transceiver and radioed Tails, who was searching through the city's nature park informing him to meet him at the casino. Suddenly, the light flew straight at Sonic. The hedgehog braced himself, but the light simply circled around him vigorously. Sonic stood still, nervous about what was happening. He then dropped his eyes when his sneakers started glowing a bright yellowish light.

"What's happening?" he wondered with an alarmed tone.

Bathed in golden light, the soles of his sneakers were replaced with thick white ones adorned with a pair of golden studs on the sides of the heels.

"Whoa," Sonic said in astonishment. "What's the deal with the new kicks?"

_Behold the Light Speed Shoes,_ the light spoke. _These will increase your overall speed as well as let you perform a special move called the Light Speed Dash._ With those last words, the light circled the air before disappearing into thin air.

Sonic was left in a state of befuddlement, but snapped to when he heard Tails calling from above. He flew down from the air and dropped over to Sonic. He took quick notice of Sonic's new shoes. "Where did those come from?" he asked.

"Haven't quite figured that out yet," Sonic answered while looking around in the sky. "Uh, anyway, a little birdy just told me there's a Chaos Emerald inside the casino. Don't ask how."

The pair strolled into the casino. One man took one look at them and shouted, "It's Sonic the Hedgehog!"

A flood of people stampeded in and surrounded the pair with excitement brimming in their eyes.

"Can I have your autograph?" a boy asked.

"Will you take a picture with me?" an older boy asked.

Sonic was overwhelmed with all of this positive clatter. "Tails," he said. "I don't think I can get out this. See if you can locate the Chaos Emerald."

"I'm on it," Tails replied.

He squeezed himself out the crowd. But didn't know where to start. He momentarily heard the sound of running water and turned his attention to the restroom door. A well-dressed man walked out soon after. Tails wondered if he was the owner and approached him to find out.

"Excuse me, Sir?" he addressed.

"Oh, hello," the man greeted. "I'm Mr. Benson, the owner of this fine establishment. How I may I you?"

Tails was relieved to have found someone important to assist him. Still seeing Sonic tied up, he was forced to undertake the task himself.

"I was wondering if you happened to see any Chaos Emeralds around here?"

Mr. Benson had no idea what the youngling was talking about. Moments later, Sonic managed to break away from the crowd. Gasping for air, he walked himself over to Tails and Mr. Benson.

_Phew! _he huffed. "I thought I was going to drown in there. You find anything out yet, Tails?"

Before Tails could answer, Mr. Benson took a quick liking to Sonic. "Oh, Mr. Sonic!" his eyes shined. "What an honor is it is have someone of your status visit here. What can I do for you?"

"My friend wanted to know if you had a Chaos Emerald stored here. It would be a small, glowing jewel. It is of the highest importance that we find it."

Mr. Benson thought for a moment, then something hit him. "You know," he said. "I believe we may have something like that stored in the coin vault. The highest importance, you say?"

"World threatening," Tails nodded.

Sold, Mr. Benson lead the two down a widened hall lined with a plush, red carpet. The walls and floor were yellow with a huge golden, metal door at the end. Mr. Benson inputted a sequence of buttons on the lock. A ding chimed and the doors slowly slid open. Both Sonic and Tails whistled in amazement when they come upon a huge room filled with thousands of gold coins piled into a giant mound. Amidst it all, Tails spotted a glittering object floating above the mound. "I see it!" he exclaimed. He flew up the golden hill and grabbed the grey-colored Chaos Emerald.

"Sweet," Sonic praised as Tails dropped back down. He looks at the emerald radiating in his hand. "If we're able, we'll try to return this to you," he followed.

Mr. Benson didn't seem to mind at all and wished them good luck as the two exited the vault. Sonic and Tails left Casinopolis. Tails held the Chaos Emerald in his hands. He couldn't help but look at his reflections in its many facets.

"One down," he says. "Five more to go," he chuckled

Suddenly, from out of no where, a laser bolt struck the ground at their feet, blowing them to the ground from the blast impact. After Tails hit the ground, the Chaos Emerald fell out of his hand and rolled across the ground. Dr. Eggman then appeared in his Eggmobile, cackling.

"Tails!" Sonic panicked. "The Chaos Emerald!"

Tails spotted the fallen gem and tried to reach for it, but the doctor refused to let that happened.

"Oh, no you don't!" he yelled.

A gun quickly emerged from the bottom of his craft and spewed forth a massive cloud of purple gas. Sonic and Tails were engulfed in the hazy cloud and quickly felt it's overpowering effects. Tails felt extremely lightheaded and straggled around. Sonic tried to reach for Tails, but he started feeling the same. Their muscles weakened and their heads spun like crazy. They finally succumbed and dropped to the ground in a heavy sleep.

Moments later, once the gas cleared away, Eggman stepped in and claimed the Chaos Emerald for himself. "Nighty-night, boys," he chortled.


	5. The Warrior's Quest

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 4: The Warrior's Quest  
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Meanwhile….

Knuckles jumped over a giant vented fan in the floor. The strong, upward rush of air lifted him like a sheet of paper up the huge shaft. Seeing a opening in the wall, he steered his body towards it and clung onto the edge. He pulled himself inside and, after casually dusting himself off, trekked down a long tunnel. His senses were getting stronger the further down he moved.

"I'm getting closer," he suspected. "I can feel it."

He saw a light at the end of the tunnel and jumped out, dropping into a huge, wide-spaced corridor full of trash piles. He walked around, observing each heap in order to get a strong reading. When he approached one particular heap, his sensations reached their zenith. "Its got to be here," he hoped, and immediately started sifting through the garbage by hand. Moving one clump after another, Knuckles finally managed to pull out another piece of the Master Emerald. It was smudged so Knuckles gently rubbed it down and brought it back to its lustrous beauty. A look of relief then hit his face.

"Now I can get out of this filth," he said.

However, the mysterious light had other plans. It appeared before Knuckles and showered him in a glittering light. Knuckles covered himself, apprehensive about what was happening.

"What's going on?" he groaned.

All Knuckles could see was white. A few moments later, the light faded out and Knuckles was able to safely open his eyes. When he did, he was struck, astounded. No longer was he in the underground tunnels. Instead, he found himself out in the open, but in a distant land. "Where am I?" he wondered.

He was standing in a giant, native village that was nestled in the center of a ring of mountains. This mystical place was pervaded by walls, square-shaped buildings, grassy ledges, and trees. In the center stood a gigantic, decorated, ziggurat-like temple.

"This place...," Knuckles uttered. "I've never seen it before, but...Something about it feels very familiar to me. Just what on earth is going on?"

He took one step and another, walking himself around the village. Before his bewildered eyes, he saw many large and burly, red echidnas with white markings walking around.

"Echidnas?" Knuckles awed. "I always thought I was the last one."

His eyes were then fixated on the giant temple in the center of the village. As if he were compelled, he approached it, many thoughts swelling in his mind. He gazed at it before noticing something remarkably familiar about it.

"That temple," he perceived. "It looks just like the one in Mystic Ruins, only...it looks brand new. It can't be...Is it possible that light transported me to Mystic Ruins of the past? But why?"

With this startling revelation coursing through his mind, he walked down a stone path, exploring the village. Observing his marvelous surroundings, a look of peace and comfort appeared on his face.

"As freaky as this is," he expressed, "I feel so at home here. Its wonderful."

Knuckles was overcome with many tranquil thoughts. Having felt alone for so long, he has longed to be among others of his own kind, to find some sort of connection with his ancestors. He soon paused when he saw two echidnas in the distance, standing near a doorway in the side of a mountain. One was a young, light brown girl and the other an elderly, dark red male with a rotund build. The girl was named Tikal and the other, Pachacamac. They appeared to be conversing so Knuckles quietly moved closer to listen.

"Please, Father," Tikal pleaded. "You must listen to me."

"Tikal," said Pachacamac. "The clan needs those 7 Emeralds in order to ensure our survival. For the good of our people, they must be ours. With them in our possession, we will become more powerful than any nation."

"But warring with other countries is not the way of our people," Tikal argued. "The 7 Emeralds don't belong to us and we have no right to invade their sacred ground. If we ever hope to achieve peace, then we must make peace with our neighbors."

Knuckles had no idea what they were talking about. It was at that moment a bright light came down from the sky and engulfed him. As quickly as it appeared, Knuckles reappeared, standing outside in front of Casinopolis.

"I'm back?," he questioned. "Were my eyes just playing tricks on me or did that experience really happen? That place. For the first time in my life, I felt like I truly belonged. I don't understand the reasoning behind this."

He held up the emerald shard he just found and wondered if it had something to do with it. His thinking, however, was interrupted by faint snoring. He turned his head to his left and found Sonic and Tails on the ground in a very, very deep sleep. He looked at the two with a question mark on his head.

"Why on earth are these two sleeping in the middle of a place like this?" he pondered.

Though reluctant to just walk away, Knuckles duties were his first priority. He figured they be alright and out of harm's way, so he moved on, edging towards the hotel. Upon entering, his eyes suddenly widened. Dr. Eggman was in his sights, waving to him as elevator doors closed in front of him.

"Eggman?" Knuckles queried. "This night is just full of surprises."

The elevator car returned and he quickly dashed inside. Seeing the car's last destination, he inputted the same. As the car ascended, he leaned his back against the wall with his arms folded and a stern look in his eyes.

_Eggman obviously knows I'm coming for him, _he thought. _If he thinks he's luring me into some kind of trap, he's sadly mistaken._

A light on the elevator door chimed, having reached the top floor. The doors slid open and Knuckles stepped out into a huge, circular diner with a big ballroom dance floor. Eggman stood in the center of the room with a devious grin.

"You mind explaining yourself, Eggman?" Knuckles demanded as he came forward. "I have more important things to do than waste time with you."

"Sorry," Eggman continued to grin. "There's something I want to test and I needed a guinea pig. You'll do nicely."

Eggman's words had Knuckles tensed up. He knew exactly what the evil doctor was capable of. Eggman snapped his fingers and several sprinklers in the ceiling above them started shaking. Water was soon sprayed everywhere drenching only Knuckles. He, however, remained focused on Eggman, failing to notice the spilled water on the floor moving around. He didn't realize until it was too late when all the drops came together in a large puddle. It then morphed into the terrible Chaos 1. The mere sight of him was enough to the invoke Knuckles' buried rage.

"It's you again," he said in an angered, but calm tone. "You're the creature who destroyed the Master Emerald. You saved me the trouble of hunting you down."

To get the ball rolling, Eggman threw his pet the grey Chaos Emerald. Chaos 1 caught it in his hand and fed on its energy, evolving into Chaos 2 in a radiant light. Chaos 2's torso, head, and arms were greatly enlarged compared to the rest of his body, giving him a more muscular form. Skeletal bones now ran down his left arm as well. Chaos 2 swung his new huge arms while crying out a loud, shrilling roar. Ready for battle, he faced his red opponent. Despite his startling change, Knuckles boldly stood his ground.

"What do you think of the new and improved Chaos?" Eggman snickered. "He should prove to be more than a match for you, little man."

"He can transform all he wants," Knuckles adamantly replied. "I'll still wipe the floor with him, so bring it on!" He then jumped at Chaos 2 for the first strike.

The watery powerhouse swung his arm, forming a colorful shield of energy around himself. Knuckles' fist strikes the shield, but is taken aback when the shield repelled him back. Chaos 2 then counterattacked by swiftly stretching his arm out. Knuckles was caught off guard and smacked hard to the floor with his enlarged hand. He was momentarily stunned by the fierce blow, and Chaos 2 discharged a powerful blast of water from his hand. Knuckles reacted in time and rolled aside, avoiding the attack. The blast hit the floor and tore right through it with brutal force.

"Is that all you've got?" Knuckles boasted while he got up.

Chaos 2 held up both hands this time. Knuckles ran at the beast just he fired twin water blasts. The large fisted warrior sidestepped the attacks and jumped at Chaos 2. Within range, he delivered a powerful tornado kick crashing into his head. The God of Destruction cried out in pain and pulled back, stunned. Knuckles and Eggman paused. Chaos remained still. Knuckles slowly approached when Chaos 2 suddenly turned his head, his cold, hated eyes glaring at him. Knuckles tried to pull away, but Chaos 2 was too quick. His right hand glowed with a violet energy and shot a violent blast of energy from it.

Knuckles groaned in anguish as he was blasted across the floor and brutally smacked into a wall. Injured from such a vicious blow, Knuckles was unable to get up. Eggman stood by laughing at Knuckles' pain. Chaos 2 was ready to finish him off for good. The Chaos Emeralds in his hands flew out of his body and became orbs of light as he transformed his entire body into a giant watery ball. With deadly crushing power, Chaos 2 bounced his way towards his fallen victim. The sounds of the battle were heard from all the way down in the lobby.

"What on earth is going on up there?" asks a woman in a fur coat.

"I don't know, Ma'am, but I'm not going up there to find out," says a bellhop.

"Put him out of his misery!" orders Eggman who watches gleefully

Knuckles was able to recover most of his strength in time. He picked himself up off the floor just as Chaos 2 bounced above him. As he came down Knuckles launched his fist and punched Chaos 2 across the room. He hit the wall on the other side of the diner with a thud. He dropped to the floor and reshaped himself back to his original form. The Chaos Emeralds gravitated back into his hands and Chaos 2 was ready to go. Knuckles, on the other hand, has had enough.

"I'm through playing around," he growled.

He clutched his fists tightly and charged at Chaos 2 with his fist up. Just as Chaos 2 put his shield up, Knuckles slammed his spiked fist into it. The shield blocked his blow, but Knuckles didn't back down this time. He kept at it, attacking the shield with one heavy punch after another. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but that changed when the shield cracked.

"Oh, no," Eggman gulped.

Under the weight of Knuckles' unforgiving blows, Chaos 2 fell to his knees. Knuckles then put all his power into his left fist and shattered Chaos 2's shield. With the shield gone, Knuckles quickly delivered one final blow to Chaos 2's brain, destroying his entire body in a giant splash of water that splattered all over the floor.

"This can't be!" Eggman wailed in disbelief.

"I guess your monster isn't as powerful as you claim," Knuckles said as he stood victorious. "Now, start talking or your next."

Chaos 2 was able to pull himself together into a puddle, but was too weakened from the battle. Instead, he slid over to one of the many cracks in the floor left from the battle and seeped through it.

Eggman stood alone against Knuckles, but managed to hide his fear. "I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you," he said. "But before I leave, though, I will tell you this. Your friend, Sonic, is not to be trusted."

Knuckles froze on the spot by Eggman's sudden remark with a sense of intrigue.

"I see your collecting the shards of your precious Master Emerald," Eggman continued. "Sonic has been collecting those as well as Chaos Emeralds in some sort of get-rich-quick scheme."

Knuckles was speechless. He and Sonic have always had their differences, but he always thought Sonic as someone of honesty and integrity. But for some reason, Eggman's words appeared to have shaken these beliefs. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "You're lying." he sternly said. "I've been fooled by you before so your little head games won't work."

Suddenly, the doctor's Eggmobile smashed into the room from the outside, prompting Eggman to immediately hop in.

"Look," he said before leaving. "Whether you believe me or not makes no difference to me. The truth will come out eventually. Till then, ciao."

Eggman flew through the hole in the wall and disappeared. Knuckles was left standing, not knowing what to believe. He entered the elevator and descended down into the lobby. Exiting from the elevator he passed by many hotel guests staring at him, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to even notice. Once outside, he took out one of the emerald shards and looked into it.

"What Eggman said has to be nonsense, right?" he asked the shard. "Look at me. That lunatic has me so frazzled, I'm asking _you_ these questions. I can't allow myself to be distracted by this. Like he said, the truth will revealed."

Suddenly, his hands started to glow a silvery white. "What's this?" he freaked. Something began to form in the light and a pair of metal gloves with twin blade-like shovels were placed over his hands. "What are these?" he wondered.

_These are the Shovel Claws,_ a voice answered._ These will help you on your journey._

Knuckles recognized that voiced and looked up in the sky. He saw the mysterious light in the sky for a brief moment before it disappeared again. He looked at his new tools as memories of that vision he had recollected in his mind.

"I feel there is a lot more this than meets the eye," he said. "That vision I had couldn't have been some random act. Collecting more pieces might answer some these questions."

Afterwards, Knuckles decided to depart Station Square and return to Mystic Ruins.


	6. A Rivalrous Reunion

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 5: A Rivalrous Reunion**

**

* * *

**

Sonic and Tails awakened from their deep sleep the following morning. They were no longer in front of Casinopolis, but instead laying on a bench in the park. Sonic stood up on his legs to stretch.

"What happened?" Tails yawned while rubbing eyes. "And how did we get here?"

"That creep, Eggman, got the drop on us," Sonic replied, still stretching. He looked around, trying to find the Chaos Emerald. "And he stole our Chaos Emerald. Not a good start."

"He's ahead of us 2 to 0," Tails lamented. "We better get moving."

Without hesitating, the two raced back to the Tornado.

Later on, in the afternoon, Knuckles had returned to Mystic Ruins and was walking through an open field. Contrary to his earlier proclamation, Eggman's words were still daunting on him.

"I have to get to the bottom of this right away," he decided.

Hearing a buzzing sound coming from the sky, he tilted his head up and saw the Tornado fly over head, towards the west. "Speak of the devil," Knuckles said. "Now, we'll see what's what."

His senses acted up again, alerting him to the presence of another shard. To him, it appeared to be coming from the direction Sonic and Tails were moving.

"This can't be a coincidence, can it?" he wondered.

Sonic and Tails soared through the clouds. Sitting in Tails' lap was a blue-colored Chaos Emerald they were recently able to acquire. Eventually they came to a valley. All was pleasant until winds strong enough to tilt the entire plane struck. Sonic was knocked off balance, but managed to cling to the edge of the wings before being blown and carried away by the winds. Tails struggled to regain the plane's balance, but too many gusts of wind were making it extremely difficult.

"It's too windy, Sonic!" he cried.

"Gee," screamed a panicking Sonic. "You think?"

Using all of the strength he had, the young fox eventually managed to tilt the Tornado back to its upright position. Sonic subsequently scrambled back onto the wings and desperately clutched to them like a frightened child. Tails turned his head and, to his horror, saw a gigantic tornado in the distance, and it appeared to be coming towards them.

"Sonic," Tails yelled. "Look!"

"No," Sonic countered, looking forward. "You look!"

Tails did and panicked. Right in front of them was a giant cascade spilling into a lake. Tails quickly turned the Tornado around before they crashed and was forced to make an emergency landing. Safely diving down where the winds were bit calmer, the Tornado touched ground near the lake and rolled across it on its wheels before coming to a slow stop. They then jumped out to witness the powerful windstorm slowly making its way towards them. The Chaos Emerald in Tails' hand was flashing, faster and faster the closer the tornado came.

"Don't tell me," Sonic lamented. "Its inside, isn't it?"

Knuckles was not too far from the natural disturbance, pressing his way through the perpetual winds.

"I can see why no one lives here," he noted.

He peered into the distance and saw the twister. "I hope those guys will be alright."

As the twister continued its violent path to them, Sonic prepared to take action, but Tails was apprehensive of such a course. "What are you going to do, Sonic?" he worried.

"Maybe if I run around the tornado in the opposite direction, I can generate enough of my own wind to cancel it out," he adamantly replied. "Throw me the Chaos Emerald."

"But are you even fast enough to do that?" Tails questioned while tossing the emerald to him.

"We're about to find out," Sonic said as he looked down at his feet. "Time to put this 'Light Speed Dash' to the test."

He crouched down with the Chaos Emerald in his hand. The studs on his shoes lit up and began to draw in energy. "Ready!" he cried. As quick as a flash, Sonic dashed across the ground with lightning fast speed, leaving behind a bright trail of blue light. Tails was taken aback by Sonic's incredible new speed and could only look on with amazement. Traveling at such a high velocity, Sonic zoomed straight at the tornado.

"Alright, Chaos Emerald," he said, holding it up. "Its your turn."

He clutched it tightly and drew on the energy contained within. The Chaos Emerald responded to Sonic's call and cloaked him in a layer of blue light. Getting closer, Sonic rolled into spin form, increasing his already phenomenal speed. He then flew up at the twister and whirled upward around it in the opposite direction. Trails of light wrapped around the windstorm like thread as Sonic sped around it. The energy from the Chaos Emerald protected him from the storm's power. With such force pushing against its movement, the tornado's form soon begun to destabilize.

"Keep going, Sonic!" Tails encouraged. "I think its starting to work!"

Meanwhile, Knuckles was still following Sonic and Tails' trail. His internal radar intensified, causing him to stop. He looked around, but didn't seem to see anything out of the ordinary.

"It feels like I'm standing right over it," he said. "But how?"

He keeping looking around, but still couldn't see anything. The feeling kept pulsing in his mind, and he nearly lost it, when something dawned on him; the ground. He bent down and felt it with his hand.

"Could it be underneath the earth?" he pondered.

Whilst wondering how he could reach it, he remembered the new tools the light bestowed upon him. He took out the Shovel Claws and equipped them to his hands.

"Let's see what these babies can do," he grinned.

He dug his hand into the ground with relative ease and scooped up a big pile of dirt. He took his other hand and repeated. He smiled at these items' effectiveness and dug into the ground with swifter movement. He burrowed himself into the ground, deeper and deeper with each swipe. Suddenly, a brilliant green shaft of light erupted from out of the hole like a geyser. Knuckles subsequently jumped out. Within the light, an emerald shard floated out of the hole. Smiling with success, he took possession of his new shard and put it in the sack with the others. He then took off his Shovel Claws and looked at them with pride and said, "I like these." He put them away for future use, and with sensation no longer pulsing, he decided it was time to face Sonic.

Sonic kept up his momentum, spinning vigorously around the tornado's already fluctuating winds. Faster and faster he went until, eventually, the twister completely dispersed. A glowing object appeared in the sky. It was the green Chaos Emerald! Dropping from the sky, Sonic caught the emerald with his hand. He fell to the ground on his feet and ran back to an excited Tails.

"That was awesome!" he praised.

"I know," Sonic gloated. "I am the greatest, aren't I?"

While the two were singing Sonic's praises, Knuckles showed up nearby. He observed them and caught a glimpse of a shiny, green object in Sonic's hand. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Eggman was right," he said with angered disbelief. "Sonic really is trying to get the Master Emerald pieces for himself. He has no right to have that."

With a very stern look in his eyes and fists clutched tightly, the hot-headed echidna marched over to them. Sonic and Tails saw him coming over and were expecting a friendly greeting. They couldn't have been more wrong

"Hey, Knuckles," greeted Sonic. "It's been a while. How's it going?"

Knuckles' facial expression didn't change in the slightest. "Skip the pleasantries, Sonic, and just hand over that emerald," he ordered. "I won't ask twice."

Sonic and Tails paused and batted eyes at each other, puzzled by Knuckles' weird behavior.

"First of all," Sonic stated. "You didn't _ask_ once, and second, not going to happen."

Such defiance boiled Knuckles to the core. He raised his fists, bent on taking back what was his.

"Alright," he growled. "You brought this upon yourself." He ran at the blue hedgehog and swung a fist.

Sonic was too quick, and easily jumped backward, dodging his attack. "What's gotten into you?" he demanded.

"I want that emerald!" Knuckles yelled as he attacked again.

Sonic dodged him again with a backflip. Seeing Knuckles was too hotheaded to listen to reason, he had no other choice but to fight. Knuckles accumulated a lot of power into his fist and slammed it against the ground. His attack gave birth to powerful shockwaves that ran under Sonic's feet. Sonic was slightly knocked off his balance, giving Knuckles the opportunity rush at him. Sonic quickly jumped back into the air just as Knuckles launched a punch at him. He once again avoided his attack and landed some distance away.

"It's my turn," Sonic smirked. Now, on the offensive, he dashed at Knuckles and tackled him with a body slam. Knuckles had braced himself beforehand in time and was merely pushed backwards, still standing on his feet. Knuckles caught his balance and maintained his fighting posture. Tails was on the sidelines, forced to watch two of his closest friends fighting each other.

"Stop it, you two!" he desperately pleaded. "You're supposed to be friends!"

The little fox's pleas fell on deaf ears, unfortunately. Sonic and Knuckles were too focused on one another to hear, much less listen. Sonic spin-rolled at Knuckles, but the red echidna impressively caught Sonic's rolling body in his hands and tried to push back against him. The force Sonic generated slowly pushed him back. Knuckles gathered his strength and threw Sonic high into the air. The speed demon unrolled and fell back to his feet. They then stood across from each other, glaring the other in the eyes.

"As much as I'd like to stay and spar with you," Sonic said."We are on a tight schedule."

"That makes two of us," Knuckles agreed.

For one final confrontation, the battling rivals charged at each other and collided with great force. The two opponents were sent tumbling across the ground away from each other. Sonic stopped at the edge of the lake, but the 2 Chaos Emeralds, however, were knocked into the lake.

"The Chaos Emeralds!" Tails exclaimed.

"What?" Knuckles realized.

Before anything could be done, a bright light suddenly appeared in the water. It swirled around as Chaos 2 rose with the Chaos Emeralds clutched in both hands.

Chaos 2 absorbed the precious stones into his body, triggering yet another powerful evolution. Transformed in a blinding radiance, he emerged as a huge shark-like creature with razor-like fins. He had a broad protrusion on his back resembling a dorsal fin and his legs had fused together into a shark-like tail. Along with the skeletal bones in his arms, he now had a skeletal structure in his lower body that extended into his tail. The Chaos Emeralds he just absorbed were housed there. Surging with new power, the evolved Chaos 4 towered over the awestruck heroes, bigger and more menacing than before.

"Houston," Sonic gulped, "We have a problem."

Through the howling winds, evil laughter soon followed the transformation. Dr. Eggman subsequently dropped down in his Eggmobile to witness his glorious pet in action. "Nice work, boys!" he laughed. "Once again, it seems that all of your hard work has been working in my favor this whole time. You practically gave me those emeralds and I owe it all to you, Knuckles!"

"You let him trick you again, Knuckles?" Sonic rolled his eyes. "You're such a sucker."

"Shut it," Knuckles told him. He then turned his furious eyes on Eggman. "As soon as I'm finished kicking your monster's hide again, you're next!"

Like poetry in motion, Chaos 4 gracefully back flipped into the water. He dove in and swam around before he slightly stuck his head out, his piercing, green eyes glowing with a sinister light.

"If I didn't know any better, I think he's inviting us for a showdown," Sonic perceived.

Knuckles' body glowed with the burning desire for battle. A warrior by nature, there was no way he was going back down. Sonic sensed this in him and was more than happy to assist. He turned to Tails and ordered, "Stay back, Tails. Knuckles and I will handle this."

"Are you sure, Sonic?" Knuckles teased. "In case you haven't noticed, he's in the water. Way out of your element and straight into his."

"Don't worry about me," Sonic responded with slight confidence. "I can handle myself when the chips are down. Now, let's not keep our friend waiting."

They make a dash for the lake, when Chaos 4 popped out of the water and swung his arm, producing a colorful wave of plasma energy. The wave flew at the pair and slammed into them with heavy force, knocking them to the ground like a sack of bricks.

"You'll pay for that," Knuckles snarled as he and Sonic got back to their feet.

The liquid creature sank into the water, hiding from sight. Seconds later, a blast of water was suddenly shot out of the pond, striking Knuckles to the ground. Chaos 4 rose again, and Sonic seized the opportunity and leapt into the air, aiming for the evil demon. He landed on Chaos 4 and wrapped his arms around his head with a tight grip. The chaos monster jerked around, trying to free himself. Sonic's body swung around the air like a rag doll, but he maintained his hold on the monster. While rubbing his head, Knuckles got back up in time to catch Chaos 4 submerge into the wake, taking Sonic with him.

"Sonic!" cried Tails.

"I'm going in!" Knuckles shouted. He ran to the water and dove in.

Underneath, Knuckles could see Chaos 4 furiously swimming about, trying to shake off Sonic. The clingy hedgehog still struggled to maintain his grip while holding his breath at the same time. Knuckles swam as fast as he could to aid his ally. Chaos 4 became extremely aggravated by this point. In desperation, his eyes glowed incredibly bright and he began rapidly spinning around, creating a large whirlpool of incredible force around himself. Sonic was finally forced off of him, and Knuckles was drawn into the current as well despite his best efforts to resist the pull. As Chaos 4 spun faster and faster, the whirlpool grew into a giant twister of water that rose from the lake. Drawing everything in the lake into itself, the twister grew increasingly taller and wider by the second. Towering several feet into the air, this incredible display of power spread out across the lake surface. Sonic and Knuckles were seen swirling around it with Chaos 4 in the center, still spinning.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Tails.

"Such power!" cried Eggman. "It's...it's incredible!

Chaos 4's eyes flashed and the twister dispersed, filling the air with thousands of sparkling droplets. Sonic and Knuckles fell from the air and towards the lake, but they managed to steer their landing to giant lily pads resting on the water's surface. Chaos 4 dove back into the water and hid from their eyes.

"He's more powerful than I thought, that's for sure," Sonic panted.

"You see now that its pointless to continue," Eggman gloated. "Why don't you do the smart thing and surrender already?"

"I'll never surrender to the likes of you," Knuckles braved.

Chaos 4 jumped out of the water like a dolphin, aiming for Sonic. Sonic in turn jumped over him and the watery beast fell back into the water. He rose again behind them both and discharged another energy wave. Sonic and Knuckles couldn't react in time and were slammed into the water. Knuckles was adept at swimming, so he had no problem climbing back onto his lily pad. Sonic's situation was an entirely different circumstance. Water was his greatest weakness, so he was left flailing his arms around, trying to stay afloat.

Chaos 4 noticed this and swam around his helpless prey a hungry shark, before he struck.

"Knuckles!" Tails called out.

Chaos 4 moved in for the kill and rose up behind Sonic, looming over him like a creature in the night. Before he strike could strike, Knuckles suddenly leaped in and hit the beast in the face with his mighty fist. Chaos 4 was knocked back into the water and retreated some distance away. Knuckles grabs a hold of Sonic, then swims him over to a lily pad.

"Am I going to have to hold your hand the whole time?" Knuckles asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic panted while boasting at the same time. "Just give me a minute."

Chaos 4 popped his head again. The 4 Chaos Emeralds left his body and floated above him in a circle. The leviathan then transforms into a giant ball of water.

"Not this trick again," Knuckles groaned.

Unbeknownst to Knuckles, however, Chaos 4 had something else in mind. His body glowed a neon blue and it suddenly split into 4 smaller spheres.

"That's creepy," Sonic remarked.

The spheres spread out in pairs and attacked the duo like guided missiles with alarming quickness. Knuckles and Sonic scattered about, jumping from lily pad to lily pad as they chased after them. Sonic jumped to one lily pad, but a sphere suddenly sprang out of the water in front of him and bounced into him. Sonic was bumped into the air just as another sphere jumped out of the water from behind and bounced him higher up.

"That does it!" Sonic exclaimed, spin-rolling. He flew down at the lake and onto a lily pad. He saw Knuckles surrounded by the spheres and quickly rolled over to the lily pad, joining him. The spheres then broke apart into hundreds of droplets that flew over to one spot in the water. They, and the Chaos Emeralds, all fused together, back into Chaos 4.

"This guy is really getting on my nerves," Knuckles growled.

"I have an idea," Sonic said. "When I say 'go', hit me with your best shot."

He jumped back to another lily pad and charged up for the Light Speed Dash. Chaos 4 swam towards him in an effort to stop him from executing his attack, but he was too late. Fully charged Sonic hopped into the air and shouted, "Go!" At the moment of takeoff, he spin-rolled and flew at Knuckles. Knuckles, at that moment, knew what Sonic had planned. He summoned all of his strength and swung his leg. He struck Sonic's body with a powerful kick and launched him at Chaos 4 like a high-speed soccer ball.

"Watch out, Chaos!" Eggman warned.

Chaos 4 jumped at Sonic, but was struck by his rolling body with such force, that he was sent flying towards the cascade. His body violently splashed against the jagged wall and his numerous remains spilled onto the lake surface. Sonic and Knuckles joined Tails on dry land.

"You're out!," Sonic said. "Score four for the good guys!"

"You guys were awesome!" praised Tails.

Up in the sky, a massive and magnificent-looking flying ship suddenly emerged from out of the clouds. Looming above their heads, its menacing countenance cast a huge shadow upon the valley, shrouding it in darkness. Sonic and the others looked up with dread.

"Behold," Eggman proudly proclaimed. "My awesome, flying masterpiece, the Egg Carrier! Savor this victory. I promise you, it will be your last."

The Egg Carrier then sent down 2 beams of light. One light hit Eggman and the other, the remains of Chaos 4. Both of them were then pulled upward. After they entered the vessel, the Egg Carrier advanced through the sky in retreat.

"Sonic, we can't let that thing get away," Tails said.

"Then let's go after him in the Tornado," Sonic replied. "You coming with us, Knuckles?"

"No thanks," Knuckles declined. "I still have some unfinished business to take care of."

"Then let's meet up again soon," Sonic said. "Til' then, take care. Let's roll, Tails."

After parting ways with him, Sonic and Tails raced back to the Tornado. Sonic hopped back on the wings and Tails jumped into the pilot seat. Ready for action, he fired up the engine. The propeller spun and the Tornado ran across the ground before taking off into the skies, ready to take on the power of the Egg Carrier.


	7. Escape From ZERO

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 6: Escape From ZERO**

* * *

Dr. Eggman sat in the master control bridge of the Egg Carrier. Below him were a team of Eggpawn robots operating the ship's controls. A red light on a panel beeped.

"Doctor," alerted one of the robots. "Something is following us." He pressed a button, prompting a big monitor screen to drop down. An image appeared on the screen, showing the Tornado approaching.

"Tenacious little rapscallions, aren't they?" said Eggman. "I want them blown out of the sky!"

The Tornado streamed through the cloud infested sky, when the Egg Carrier came into view, in all it's malevolent glory.

"There it is, Tails!" yelled Sonic. "Get ready!"

Tails put the plane in full speed. Several laser turrets on the sides of the vessel took aim in response.

"Incoming, Tails!" Sonic alerted.

"I see'em," Tails said. "I'll blow them away!"

The turrets unleashed a storm of laser fire, firing several streams at the Tornado. Tails had always been known for his exceptional piloting skills, as he demonstrated by swiftly moving to the side, dodging the assault. He then returned fire by discharging several flows of bullet fire from the Tornado's machine gun. Several turrets were destroyed on one side, and Tails flew to the other side. He moved around the lasers and struck back, destroying those as well.

"Nice moves, Tails!" Sonic applauded.

The Tornado then flew above the Egg Carrier as Eggman observed on the monitor. "Activate the missile cannons!" he ordered.

Cannon turrets mounted on the back of the ship in rows activated and took aim, unleashing a volley of spiked ball-tipped missiles. The armed projectiles screamed upward, aiming at the Tornado, which wasn't positioned to counterattack.

"I'm up!" Sonic declared as he jumped into a spin. He flew down and struck the missiles one by one in perfect succession, lighting the sky with several mini explosions. After gaining more altitude, the Tornado swooped down and blasted the turrets into oblivion. A part of the hull was blasted away, and Sonic jumped high into the air just as the Tornado came down, landing back on the wings.

Meanwhile...

In Station Square, Amy Rose was ambling down a sidewalk, carrying a bag of groceries. With a depressed expression on her face, she pointed her head up in the sky and sighed, "I wish Sonic would come back soon. Ever since he left, every day's been the same. I miss the good old days of hanging out with him and beating Eggman. Now, life's just one big bore. Maybe _I _should take a trip."

Lowering her head in boredom, she tried to recall more exiting moments in her life, but things suddenly went dark which snapped her back to reality.

"What?" she blinked. "What's going on here?"

A massive, dark shadow had appeared over Station Square, darkening the city. Everyone, including Amy, held their heads up to the sky, as the dreaded Egg Carrier appeared above them, soaring over the metropolis. The roaring sound of its engines drowned out every other sound as the flying harbinger slowly passed over.

"That ship," Amy inquired when she saw Eggman's insignia on the ship. "Is that Dr. Eggman?"

She darted her eyes away from the Egg Carrier and focused them on the tiny speck attacking it.

"The Tornado?" she hollered. "What is Tails doing attacking that giant thing on his own?"

Up in the air, something flew out of the hole Tails made during the battle. As the battle raged on, Eggman's patience wore thin.

"Enough child's play," he said. "Slow the ship down."

By his command, the Egg Carrier's engine's slowed down, dropping the ship's speed considerably. The Tornado, which was still traveling at top speed, was quickly warped way ahead of it.

"Now what's he up to?" Sonic cautiously wondered.

"It's over," Eggman glared. "Fire the Eggbeam Cannon!"

A loud sound was heard as the nose of the Egg Carrier slowly opened up, revealing a huge, hidden power cannon shaped like an eye. The cannon gathered and stored a vast amount of energy channeled through the ship's internal core.

"FIRE!" Eggman roared.

At once, a giant burst of neon blue energy was blasted forth from the cannon. The beam of energy tore its way through the sky at an extraordinary high speed. Sonic and Tails had no idea what was coming their way. From behind, they were suddenly hit by the destructive blast. They screamed in panic as the Tornado was ripped into two pieces. Sonic fell straight down, towards the city, while Tails was sent spiraling into the far distance. The Egg Carrier then escaped through the skies with Eggman's evil laughter echoing victoriously.

"Oh, no!" Amy cried when she saw the Tornado shot out of the sky.

She dropped her bags to the ground and attempted to make a desperate dash towards the crash site. The thing that flew out of the Egg Carrier appeared in the sky over the city causing Amy, who saw it, to pause. "What is that thing?" she wondered.

She continued watching as the object descended into the city, and noticeably towards her. Before she knew it, she was bonked on the head by the object. "Ow!" she bawled as she fell to her knees, rubbing her head. She opened her eyes and found a little, blue Flicky bird laying on the ground.

"Oh, you poor little thing," she sorrowed. "Are you okay?"

She gently picked up the feathered creature and held him in her hands. The little bird opened his big, brown eyes. It was wearing a large, brown locket around his neck.

"Did you just fly out of that giant ship?" Amy asked the bird. "Do you have a name?"

The little bird shook his head in response.

"Okay, I'll give you name," Amy perked up. "Let's see. You're a Flicky, so I'll call you Flick. You can stay with me until you're feeling better. Right now, we need to find Tails and make sure he's alright."

The newly christened Flick chirped happily and hopped on Amy's shoulder. With her new friend, Amy prepared to take off when a sudden, loud thud behind her was heard. They turned around and saw a big, green robot. This weird-looking machine had a body shaped like a trashcan and had two long arms with huge, black hands shaped like punching gloves. It also had 2 emotionless, red, eyes and, instead of feet, its method of transportation were a two pairs of treaded wheels. ZERO, the robot's name was.

"Identifying subjects," the robot spoke in a low mechanical voice as it scanned Amy and Flick. "Subject identified. Initiating capture sequence."

It raised its arms and reached for the girl. Amy screamed, grabbed Flick, and ran like the dickens from the threatening robot. ZERO was known for its single-tracked mind and ruthless, unrelenting resolve. ZERO demonstrated this by chasing after Amy. Right behind her, it held its hand up and shot it as a tethered projectile at Amy as she sharply turned a corner. Its attack missed, scraping a piece off of the building instead. The green robot retracted its appendage back, then ran after its fleeing target. Panting heavily, Amy quickly zipped into a vacant burger shop.

She looked out a window and saw ZERO, still after her. Thinking quick, she hid under a table beneath the window, holding Flick close to her body.

"We'll be safe here," she consoled him. "hopefully."

ZERO came to the window and peered inside. Amy's heart raced at his presence, but her hiding spot seemed to work. The metal monster saw no trace of Amy and Flick and threw its arms in the air before moving on. Moments later, Amy sensed the danger had passed and came out of hiding, still holding onto Flick.

"That was close," she said, relieved. "It's not safe for us to be here." They exited the burger shop and ran through the city, opposite of the direction ZERO was moving.

Sonic's still body laid on the beach near the Emerald Coast, partially buried in the sand below the orange sky of a sunset. A small girl approached him. Looking at him with curiosity, she picked up a wooden stick and poked him with it.

"Hello?" she said as she kept poking him. "Are you sleeping?"

Sonic then nudged.

"Hey, cut that out," he muttered.

He picked himself off the ground and rubbed the sand off his face. He shook his head and looked around.

"Tails?" he called out. But there was no sign of him. "Tails!" he called again. "Where are you?"

He soon came to realize he was alone.

"I hope he's okay," he worried. "I gott'a go find him." He ran across the beach, heading into the city.

Meanwhile…

In Mystic Ruins, Big was walking through a forest. Having finally captured his elusive, little friend, Froggy, he merrily strolled on the way back to his hut with Froggy safely in his arms.

"You put me through quite a lot, Froggy," Big said. "Once we get home, maybe I can finally figure out why you've been acting so odd."

Froggy had an intense look of frustration on his face as he was squirming about, desperately trying to free himself from the cat's grip. Nearby, in the trees, the remains of the Tornado were stuck in its many branches. Tails was sitting unconscious in the pilot seat, but was slowly sliding towards the edge. Big was approaching from below just as Tails slid out of the plane. He fell through the air just as Big was walking underneath and crashed onto him, knocking the large feline over. He tumbled to the ground and Froggy managed to slip out and hop away again, chuckling deviously.

"Froggy!" Big cried. "Oh, not again!"

After seeing the fleeing frog escape him once again, Big turned his attention to Tails, who was still out cold.

"Look what you've done," he whined at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

Big had too much of a sweet disposition and really couldn't bring himself to be upset with the little fox. Instead, he picked Tails up and tossed him up on his back. With his new passenger, he commenced the mission of recapturing Froggy and carefully ran through the dense forest.

Amy was seen walking down the sidewalk amongst the people with Flick perched atop her shoulder. Despite being out in the open where ZERO could easily spot them, they felt safe for the time being.

"Hopefully, Sonic will be back home soon," she said. "Then, our problems will be taken away. I just hope he gets here before that robot finds us."

It was at that moment a blue blur sped past them, causing Amy's heart to skip a beat. She looked back in the direction it came and saw nothing, but when she turned around, eyes suddenly swelled with joy. Right before their eyes stood Sonic with his back turned. This was the one moment Amy had been waiting months for; the return of her beloved.

"I don't believe it," she uttered with passion. "My prayers have been answered. SONIC!"

That familiar voice screeched through Sonic's ears, causing his quills to stand on end. He was reluctant to turn around, but it was too late, though. Before he knew it, his self-proclaimed girlfriend had her arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace.

"Uh, Amy?" he tried to speak.

"Oh, Sonic, I've missed you!" she cried on his back.

"It's uh...nice to see you again, too," Sonic said while struggling to break free.

Amy finally released her hold on Sonic and, while he tried to catch his breath, explained the situation she and Flick were in. "You have to help Flick and me, Sonic," she told him. "We're in terrible danger."

"From what?" Sonic asked.

"Flick and I are being chased by one of Dr. Eggman's crazy robots," Amy continued. "If you don't protect us, we'll just follow you anyway. You may be the fastest thing on earth, but even you can't escape the likes of me."

Sonic knew she dead serious about that last statement. Amy was always known for her infatuation with Sonic and was not exactly subtle about it. Rather than argue with this logic, he agreed.

"Oh, alright, Amy." he caved. "I'll be your bodyguard." _How do I keep getting into these situations? _

"By the way," Amy wondered. "I saw Tails attacking Eggman's ship. I can't believe he tried to do that on his own."

"Well, actually, we were both fighting Eggman," Sonic replied. "We're trying to find all of the Chaos Emeralds before Eggman does."

"Wait a minute," Amy said with a disgruntled look on her face. "Are you saying you've been back for a while now? And you didn't have the forethought to come and tell me?"

Sonic quickly backed away from a steaming Amy. "Uh...can we discuss this later?" he nervously asked. "We really need to go check on Tails."

Amy agreed to let Sonic off for now. She was just glad he was finally back in her life again. Together, they all traversed the city. Eventually, they all ended up walking near the entrance to Twinkle Park. From where they were standing, Amy couldn't help but have her eyes drawn to the park's many attractions.

"This would be the perfect spot for a first date," Amy said with twinkles in her eyes. "Don't you agree?"

Sonic was less than thrilled at the prospect and tried to steer her away from the uncomfortable subject. "Let's remain focused on the matter at hand," he said.

While Amy continued to eye the park and Sonic looking in the other direction, Flick suddenly panicked and hid behind Amy. Amy looked at Flick quivering and saw the source of his fear. On the far end of the sidewalk, the menacing ZERO stood.

"Target acquired," ZERO said. It raised its arms in the air and ran towards them.

Amy quickly dashed over to Sonic's back. "Sonic, look!" she cried. "It's the robot that's after Flick and me!"

"Don't worry," Sonic stood. "I'll handle that bag of bolts!"

ZERO targeted Amy and Flick and fired its fist at them. Sonic blocked the attack by knocking it aside with his own fist.

"Keep your cold, metal hands off her, bucket head," he demanded.

Amy couldn't help but blush from Sonic's chivalrous actions.

"He's such a hottie," she giggled.

She then noticed a sign on the amusement park entrance, causing her heart to nearly pop out her chest.

" 'Cute Couples get in free?' " she read.

Excited, she and Flick both ran into the park, completely forgetting all about the danger they were in.

"Amy, wait!" Sonic exclaimed. "Geez, that girl has got such a one tracked mind."

ZERO held its hands up to a red, hexagonal light on its head. It glowed and shot a red energy beam. It struck the ground at Sonic's feet and knocked the hedgehog to the ground from the blast impact. With the only obstacle out of its way, the burly robot was free to pursue its prey. It followed them straight into Twinkle Park where dozens of people were put in danger.

"This is just not my day," Sonic groaned as he stood back up.

Amy, Flick, and ZERO were nowhere in sight, except in the giant theme park where they could be anywhere.

Among all the people, Amy and Flick strolled through the starlit park, walking by the huge swimming pool.

"We really should come here someday," she said. "It looks like so much fun."

They were soon drawn to sudden screams coming from not too far behind. Dozens of people were running away from something. Amy and Flick saw the source. ZERO was right behind them, with the two directly in its sight.

"Doesn't that thing ever give up!" Amy yelled as she and Flick attempted to elude their would-be captor. "What does it want with me anyway?"

The fleeing duo ran through the crowd of screaming people, eventually making their way to Twinkle Castle. They ran past the doors and down a wavy hallway lined with a red carpet. "Maybe we can lose it in here somewhere," Amy hoped. They soon came to a door. Amy opened it and both of them entered into a giant room filled with a maze of mirrored walls.

"Holy cow!" Amy shrieked. "What deranged person came up with this?"

Seeing dozens of mirrored reflections of themselves surrounding them, Amy was way beyond confused. She had no idea which way was what. Instead, she was left to feel their way through this tricky labyrinth. They didn't have a lot of time, unfortunately. Dozens of ZERO's ghastly image appeared in the mirrors.

"Oh, no!" Amy frantically panicked. "That thing followed us in here! I can't tell which one is real!"

Grievous danger was right on their heels. She grabbed Flick again and tried to find her way through the mirrors, whilst trying to avoid ZERO at all costs, but its many reflections moving around easily frightened the two, rendering them unable in making any careful decisions. They continue running around, when ZERO's hand suddenly shattered through one of the mirrors. Amy screamed as loud as her lungs allowed as ZERO forebodingly loomed over her. Just when it all seemed over, Sonic immediately showed up, smashing through a mirror in a spin attack. He bashed into ZERO, knocking the monstrous automaton across the ground. It slid into more mirrors breaking them into thousands of broken pieces that rained down upon everyone. Sonic quickly pushed Amy aside as sharded glass flew everywhere.

"Amy, are you okay?" he worried.

"You saved us," Amy cried with teary eyes.

ZERO quickly recovered and got back up. He was proving to be a rather difficult and dangerous opponent to contend with.

"Amy," Sonic said. "You and your friend get out now while you can. Get as far away from here as possible. I'll hold him off."

Amy was fiercely reluctant to leave Sonic alone with the robotic menace. "But what about you?" she asked.

"Since when has any of Eggman's robots ever given me a hard time?" Sonic gloated. "I'll be fine. Now, get going."

Complying, Amy and Flick fleed, back the way they came. ZERO attempted to go after her, but Sonic instantly intervened.

"Sorry," he smiled. "But your date is with me now. I don't know why you're so bent on getting to her, but believe me, it ends here."

"All obstacles must be eliminated," ZERO said.

It raised its arms up in the air and slammed them hard into the ground. A powerful, seismic shockwave was produced that spread throughout the room. Everything ruptured, shattering all of the remaining mirrors as well as causing the room itself to cave in. Debris of stone and glass collapsed everywhere around them. Sonic braced himself as he and ZERO were soon buried underneath all of the rubble. After the dust settled, a huge of pile of debris was left in the collapsed room's wake. Something, however, stirred inside and ZERO soon busted its way out of the mound, completely unscathed.

"Must capture target," it said. "Obstacle eliminated. Resuming capture sequence."

It promptly left the scene, leaving Sonic seemingly buried alive.


	8. The Only Start for Me

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 7: The Only Start for Me**

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**

Walking through a forest in Mystic Ruins, a younger Tails looked as though he'd just lost a best friend. Lonely and depressed, he stepped through the wooded area with his head drooping until something suddenly zipped by him. Tails' nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What was that?" he gasped.

He caught a glimpse of the direction the blur was moving and ran after it with much intrigue. He came to couple of thick, green bushes and peeked through. Before his blue eyes was Sonic. The blue hedgehog stretched his legs and arms before he took off again. Tails was instantly stricken with admiration for this stranger.

"That guy's fast," he expressed. "I wonder if I can catch up to him?"

He jumped out of the bushes to find out. He spun his tails and propelled himself along the ground at high speeds. Sonic raced through the trees without a care in the world. He turn his head around and spotted the young fox trying to catch up. He simply smiled with an appealing look on his face and said, "Not bad, kid, but let's see if you can keep up with this."

Sonic wasn't running nearly as fast as usually did. He put a stop to that by kicking into high gear. He blazed forth, leaving Tails in his dusty wake. Tails came to a brief stop to blow away the cloud. Sonic was out of sight, but still running around in his mind. He wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel just yet.

"I can do this," he said, looking down at his tails.

He spun them again, this time, utilizing them in a different manner. His feet as well as the rest of his body were lifted off of the ground. Hanging in the air, Tails pulled back and flew after Sonic. Tails moved a whole lot faster in the air than on the ground. He ascended higher and higher, reaching the top of the soon exited the forest and was now running across an open field. He looked back hoping to see his little follower, but alas.

"I guess the little guy couldn't keep up," he lamented. "Maybe I should go back and check on him."

Before he could, a voice suddenly called out to him, shouting, "Hey!" Sonic threw his eyes upward and, much to his great surprise, saw Tails flying high in the sky.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "Now, that is impressive."

Tails lowered himself to the grassy ground and ran up to Sonic.

"That was pretty cool for a kid your age," Sonic said. "What's your name?"

"Miles Prower," the fox boy replied. "But everyone calls me 'Tails'."

"It suits you," Sonic remarked. "Is there anything else you can do?"

"Well," Tails answered with hesitation. "You'll probably think I'm a geek, but I like to build machines. I'm really good when it comes to technology."

Sonic saw a lot of potential in this kid. "Tell you what," he said. "I happen to own a plane called the Tornado. If you want, I can take you there to show it to you. Race you there!"

Tails laughed as he took flight once again. He soared above Sonic who ran forth on foot. It was at that moment that Sonic and Tails' powerful bond was formed. Tails was no longer the lonely kid he once was. Everything soon faded into white. Tails slowly opened his eyes and found himself riding on the back of Big the Cat.

"Where am I?" he moaned.

"You're awake," Big noted. He stopped to set Tails down. "I found you in the forest sleeping, and you wouldn't wake up. So I've been carrying you around to make sure nothing bad happened to you."

"I see," Tails said while rubbing his head. "Thanks for looking out for me. What's your name?"

"My name is Big," the striped cat happily answered.

"Nice to meet you, Big," Tails responded in kind. "I'm Tails. I'm sorry to have to leave like this, but there is something really important I have to do. See'ya later."

"Bye-bye!" Big waved to Tails. "What a nice kid. Alright, Froggy, here I come."

As the large cat moved forward, he suddenly paused when the mysterious red light appeared before him in a burst of sparkling light. Big was at first startled, but was then appeased by how pretty it looked to him. He slowly approached the glittering object, high in curiosity.

"Gee," he chuckled. "You're really pretty. Where did you come from?"

_You have a very big heart,_ the light warmly giggled. "_Such purity is rare in this world. I shall bestow upon you these gifts. Use them to find and protect your friend._

It went on to circle around Big and showered him in glittering light, affecting both his rod and belt.

His fishing rod glowed with a soft yellow light while a band of soft green light emanated from his waist where his belt was. Big's rod was changed from a brown, wooden one and into a sleeker, black&yellow, metal one. His brown, leather belt was replaced with a thicker, green one with a black&yellow side release buckle.

_I give you the Power Rod and the Life Belt,_ the light said. _Now, hurry and find your friend before its too late._

The light promptly disappeared right before his eyes. Big took a look at his new rod and belt with wonder. Before long, he set off to track down his best friend once again. Elsewhere, Tails was running through the forest, deep in thought.

_That dream,_ he ran through his mind, _It brought back a lot of good memories. Sonic's done a lot for me over the years_. _Now it's time I do something for him._

He came to a stop and gazed up at the gibbous moon glowing in the night sky.

"The Tornado wasn't powerful enough to take on the Egg Carrier," he stated. "If we are to stand a fighting chance, I must finish what I started. Its time to unleash the Tornado II! I need a Chaos Emerald to make it work, but I don't have time to look for one with out any sort of guidance."

Just then, like a sign from above, he noticed a bright glow a little distance ahead of him. He saw the light moving round in the air before seeing it fly down a path to the left. He knew from that moment that this was no coincidence and ran after it, hoping it would lead him to what he was seeking.

Meanwhile…

A clean up crew had been called into Twinkle Park to clean and repair the damage in Twinkle Castle left by Sonic and ZERO's scuffle. In the shambled mirror maze, a whole team were trying to clear out all of the rubble. Three of them were working on clearing away the mound of rubble. One worker sifts through the broken mixture of concrete and glass when something underneath moved.

"What was that?" he jumped back.

The other 3 workers followed suit. Something inside the mound was rustling and, without much warning, Sonic broke his way out in a spin attack. Rocks and glass were harmlessly tossed everywhere. Once out, he fell to his knees, weakened.

"Its Sonic!" one of the crew members exclaimed as they all gathered around him.

They crouched down to see if their hero was injured. One of the men stood up and instructed everyone to back up.

"Give him some air, guys," he said. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I will be in a few seconds," Sonic panted.

He stretched his legs before he stood upright, then his arms. In mere moments, he got his full strength back.

"Later," he bid, then quickly dashed out of the park and into the city, arriving at an intersection. He looked up at the sky, seeing it was night.

"I must've been out of it for a while," he rubbed his head. "I hope that metal monstrosity hasn't gotten its hands on Amy. I need to find those 2 and fast."

Despite the city being a huge place, Sonic didn't want to leave that to chance. He ran down several streets of Station Square at breakneck speed. After clearing them with no sign of Amy or Flick, he scaled up the side of a tall skyscraper and up to the city's skyline. Hanging on to a long pole at the top of the building, Sonic oversaw the entire city. From this view, the whole city glistened in the night air like a Christmas tree. It truly was a beautiful sight to see, but Sonic had urgent things on his mind to notice.

"Man," he lamented. "She could be anywhere in this giant, concrete jungle. Hopefully, that robot isn't fairing any better than I am."

Elsewhere in the city, the unrelenting ZERO was quietly searching the streets of the city. Several people took notice of it, but given the age they lived in and because it wasn't doing anything but acting like a common pedestrian, they saw no harm in it. It eventually passed by an alley. Unbeknownst to the robot, in said alley was a large cardboard box sitting next to a dumpster. Inside the box were Amy and Flick, cuddled together and sound asleep.

Tails continued following the light, which eventually lead him to a small waterfall in the face of a mountain in the forest. It then directed him to a couple of shrubs. Tails rushed to the bushy plants and dug his hands through them. He soon felt something hard and smooth and pulled it out. To his surprise, its was red-colored Chaos Emerald, shining brilliantly in his hand.

"I found one!" he applauded.

The emerald shone and released an intense bright, red light. Tails, in shock held the stone out, afraid of what it was doing. The light proceeded to engulf his entire being.

"What's happening?" he cried with his eyes closed. The light slowly faded out and Tails was able to open his eyes without danger.

"Wha..what's going on?" he wondered with slight panic. "Where am I?"

Tails has been brought to the echidna village in the distant past. The same place Knuckles was when he had this experience. He stood right before the giant temple in the center of the village. As Knuckles did before him, he too noticed something about it.

"That temple," he uttered. "There's something oddly familiar about it. But what?"

He marched closer to get a better look. He focused hard on the designs painted on the walls, but his attention was quickly drawn to the many echidna villagers walking among him.

"They look a lot like Knuckles," Tails said with surprise. "I always thought he was the last of their kind. I wonder if that light transported me to the past. If so, how do I get back?"

A few moments later was when the girl echidna, Tikal, arrived. Tails saw her approach the temple and kneel before it.

_Who's she?_ he wondered

Tikal stood before the temple on one knee with her eyes closed and head down. She stood up a few seconds later and spoke to herself.

" 'The servers are the 7 Chaos'," she said.

Tails overheard her and wondered what those words meant. " 'Seven Chaos'?" he repeated to himself.

Tikal turned around and saw the curious kid paying attention to her. She faced him with a rather cheery expression and warmly greeted, "Hello, friend."

"Hi," Tails greeted back. "The 7 Chaos. What does that mean?"

"Its something my grandmother used to tell me a long time ago," Tikal replied. "I've never forgotten it. It refers to an ancient legend. 'The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos'. I'm not really sure what it all means, but it seems to have something to do with the 7 Emeralds."

The word "emeralds" struck Tails like a match. He had an inkling of what Tikal's legend might've been referring to.

"By the way, I'm Tikal," she continued. "What's your name?"

Before Tails can even utter even a single word, everything before his eyes vanished. The next thing he knew, he was standing in the same spot he was before his temporal experience. The Chaos Emerald was back in his hand.

"Was I just dreaming that?" he wondered. He held the Chaos Emerald up to his face and peered into it, but then suddenly noticed that his feet were glowing.

"What now?" he intrigued.

Metallic devices appeared, attached the heels of his shoes. Immediately following, the red light appeared before Tails, floating above him in the air. _Behold the Jet Anklets,_ it said. _These will allow you to fly faster than you ever have before. _

"Tikal?" Tails wondered, recognizing its voice.

The light then vanished, and Tails was left standing bewildered by the night's strange events. He turned upward and saw faint light in the sky, brought on by the sun's early awakening.

"Its a brand new day," he declared. "No more stalling. Its time to complete the Tornado II and show Eggman what we're really made up."

Determination and heart burned within his eyes and flew up into air above the trees. Hanging there, he pointed to the location of his workshop. By his will, his new Jet Anklets expelled tiny flames as they propelled him through the sky at a high speed.

"Awesome," he yelled. "At this rate, I'll get there in no time."

Over the hill where his workshop laid, the sun hung in the air. The ocean glistened and its scent carried by the wind. From above, Tails descended to the ground below, landing in front of his door.

"The time has come at last," he proclaimed.

He entered his home and flipped on the light switch. The garage lit up and Tails' machine remained covered by the black tarp in the same spot is was when he was first working on it. The little fox grabbed his toolbox, took out a wrench, and walked over his yet to be finished project. Focused and void of any outside distractions, Tails went to work on completing his ultimate plane he's been wanting to finish before this whole crisis began.

* * *

**The title for this chapter is a lyric from Tails' theme song. Its rather fitting. **


	9. The Birth of E102 Gamma

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 8: The Birth of E-102 Gamma**

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Deep, deep, in a forest not too far from the ancient temple, laid a giant, metallic stronghold built into the caverns of a large mountain at the forest's edge. This was the lair of Dr. Eggman. Below, in the lower levels of this compound, the eggman stood inside a huge chamber. Several of his Eggpawns were busy working on his latest project. Stationed in the chamber were five huge capsules.

"Activate the main power surge!" Eggman commanded.

A robot positioned at a huge machine complied and pushed a switch. The room went dark and all the mechanisms on the machine lit up. Powerful surges of energy were then siphoned from the generator machine and channeled directly into the capsules through large cables. Eggman beheld this moment with fervor, his dark glasses glared from the bright light. Before long, the energy flows slowly came to a stop and the capsules opened up. As they poured out thick, white clouds of smoke, Eggman stepped forward. Standing in the capsules were five large, multi-colored robots.

"Behold," Eggman said to his other robots. "My new E-100 series robots."

The 5 robots stepped out of their capsules. These high-tech assault machines all had near-identical designs, but they also had their own personal distinctions. They had short bodies, long, thin legs, yellow heads, green eyes, and were equipped with some type of weapon arm on the end of one or both arms. On both sides of their torsos was a white 100 number. The black robot's number was 101 and both wrists ended with two missile launchers. The red robot's number was 102 and its right arm was a smart missile launcher. The blue robot's number was 103 and both arms ended with two guided missile-launchers. The orange robot's number was 104 and both arms ended with twin stinger missile launchers. The purple robot's number was E-105 and had a plasma rifle on its left arm.

"Hello, my new pets," Eggman greeted. "You are the first line of a new and elite unit of E-100 model robots. Stand straight as I hand you your identifications."

He approached the black robot. "You are E-101 code-named: Beta," he addressed.

He approached the red robot. "You are E-102 code-named: Gamma."

He approached the blue robot. "You are E-103 code-named: Delta."

He approached the orange robot. "You are E-104 code-named: Epsilon."

Finally, he approached the purple robot. "And you are E-105 code-named: Zeta."

"Yes, Doctor," the E-robots spoke in unison.

"Listen well, you five," Eggman continued. "As the first of the E-100 units, each of you have been given your own armaments and abilities. You will use these skills in a special test. Those of you who pass this exam will be able to serve aboard the almighty Egg Carrier as well as be given the honor of becoming the template for future E-100 robots. Behind you, you will find 5 doors. That is the shooting practice arena. Get in there and show me what you've got. Do not disappoint me."

The E-Robots followed their master's instructions and headed in, through the doors. In their own arenas, they faced a targeting challenge. The rooms were filled with moving Sonic dolls. The robots used their lock-on lasers, targeting the dolls. Beta fired 2 homing missiles, destroying one of the dolls and accidentally damaging a wall with the other one. Gamma shot 3 small missiles in rapid succession, destroying 4 dolls in a wide radius. Delta discharged 2 heavy missiles seconds apart. Without the aid of a targeting laser, they automatically struck the moving dolls, destroying 2 of them and the ones adjacent. Epsilon rapidly released 2 piercing homing missiles, blasting away 5 dolls as well as destroying a section of the arena from the blast impact. Zeta spun around, blasting every doll around him with streams of hot, plasma energy with perfect accuracy. In the other room, Eggman kept track of the robots' scores via monitors. Before his impressed eyes, they rose higher than even his expectations could've predicted.

"I never thought they be _this_ efficient," he stated with great pleasure. "Impressive."

Their scores continued to ascend with every passing minute, and the practice session soon came to an end. All their scores were above 8000 except Beta's whose score was below 5300.

The gunner robots exited their training arenas with their arm weapons smoking and were approached by a very pleased Eggman.

"Well done," the doctor applauded. "The four of you have earned the right to serve on the Egg Carrier." He then shifted angry eyes on Beta. "As for you, you disgrace," he scolded. "How could you have scored so low? I have a good mind to scrap you down into soup cans. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry," Beta whimpered.

"I'm in such a good mood today, I'll cut you a break," Eggman pitied. "This will be your last chance. Don't fail me again or else, got it?"

"Yes, Doctor," Beta replied.

"Now then," the doctor continued. "All of you are to meet me in the Egg Carrier in one hour for your first assignment. Failure to show up will result in immediate dismantlement. Move it."

The five robots left the chamber. Eggman took his leave as well with something important on mind. In a giant glade in the forest near Eggman's base rested the Egg Carrier. It has been sleeping in this spot ever since its aerial battle with the Tornado. The gunner robots, minus Beta, gathered in the spacious main hall of the vessel. Two spot lights shone down upon a podium as Dr. Eggman entered the room. He approached the podium and stood before the robots. A microphone rose from the floor in front of the eggman, and after clearing his throat, he spoke into it with a loud and clear voice.

"Attention, my minions," he announced. "Your brother, Beta, will not be joining us today, so it'll just be the 4 of you to undertake this mission. Pay close attention to the following instructions."

Three large monitor screens positioned behind Eggman displayed images of a green frog with a tail.

"Here, you see a frog with a tail," Eggman followed. "This frog is absolutely vital to my plans. Your assignment is to bring this amphibian to me. Do what ever it takes to get it, and remember, failure is not an option. Now, head out!"

"Yes, Doctor!" the robots obeyed.

A huge, metal door opened on the Egg Carrier and dropped to the ground as a ramp. The 4 gunner robots exited the ship and spread out into the forest.

Later…

After waking up in the morning, Amy and Flick came out of hiding. They were seen strolling down the sidewalk.

"I think we've lost that creepy robot for good, Flick," Amy merrily said. "Too bad we lost Sonic, though."

_Chirp, chirp,_ Flick happily chirped.

"I wonder what we should do with all of this free time?" Amy pondered. "The mall is just up ahead. Maybe we can pick up a few things to fill out the day. Like getting a present for Sonic. Maybe a token of my love will make him fall for me."

Such happy thoughts filling her head compelled her to forget about the danger she's still in. That was about to come back and bite her. Something was creeping up from behind them, silently. It wasn't until its shadow loomed over her did Amy look back. But it was too late. ZERO's gruesome countenance hung over her. Amy let out a terrified scream and held Flick just as ZERO grabbed a hold of the young hedgehog. Fortunately, Sonic was not too far away. His pointed ears twitched, hearing the faint echoes of Amy's cry.

"That's Amy!" he exclaimed.

The speedy hedgehog didn't waste even a split second. He raced over to their location, following Amy's screams, but alas, he arrived a moment too late.

"They were just here," Sonic said, kicking himself. "That robot must've gotten to her."

Just then, he heard someone calling out, "SONIC!" He turned, tilted his head upward, and saw ZERO flying over the city with Amy and Flick under its arm.

"Amy!" Sonic cried. "Darn it. I can't let that thing just fly off with them. It looks like they're headed for Mystic Ruins. Hang on, you two. I'm coming!"

Sonic charged up his Light Speed Dash, and ran through the city with the utmost haste.

In his workshop, Tails put his toolbox away in a cabinet and wiped his head clean with a cloth while looking at his greatest achievement with pride. Standing on a raised platform and ready for deployment was the fully completed Tornado II. This high-tech, aerial machine was similar in appearance to its predecessor except it was painted blue&yellow. On its tail, instead of Sonic's emblem, Tails' own twin-tailed emblem had been painted on. Unlike its predecessor, it also had a second seat.

"At last," he acclaimed. "The Tornado II is up and ready. All that's left to do is to add the power source."

Holding the red Chaos Emerald, Tails jumped into his new plane and placed the glittering gem into the slot centered in the control panel. Once placed, the emerald flashed for a second, adjusting to its new home. The platform then sank into floor, taking the Tornado II down into a metallic tunnel. Two doors in the side of the hill opened up, ready for launch.

"Tornado II take off!" Tails exclaimed.

The plane rolled down the tunnel and exited into the air over the ocean. He soared his way around the mountain spire like he did before with astounding speed and ascended higher into the sky. From that point, Tails commenced his search for Sonic.

Big's unrelenting resolve had taken him to the soggy marshes of Mystic Ruins. He was sitting against a palm tree with his new fishing rod dipped in a large pond.

"C'mon, Froggy," he said. "I have a tasty cherry for you."

Froggy was swimming in the water, hiding from Big, and saw the hooked cherry waving around with the water's movement. However, unlike last time, Froggy ignored the tasty, little fruit, but was nonetheless pretty much deadlocked in this area with no way out. He saw the cherry moving around in the water, but chose to ignore it this time around. Having spent such a prolonged amount of time inside Froggy's body, the entity now had a near-complete control over him. Big pulled his rod out of the water a few minutes later. The cherry was still hooked on causing him to sigh, "This isn't working anymore."

While Big pondered what to do next, E-102 Gamma appeared in the area, looking through the tall blades of grass. He was still following Eggman's orders to bring him the tailed frog.

"Must find tailed frog," he said with a soft, deep voice. "Must make Master pleased."

The gunner robot dug through the lofty vegetation. He soon felt something moving and quickly pulled out a red-spotted green frog, but with no tail.

"This isn't the one," he said. He put it back down and spotted Big nearby fishing, but didn't pay him any mind, though.

Big came up with a plan B and stood up. "Alright," he proclaimed. "I guess I'll just have to go in and get you myself."

Froggy poked his head out of the water and saw Big move away from the pond and turn around. He knew what he was about to do and a horrified expression hit his face as a result. But, he then looked ahead and saw Gamma looking around. It quickly dawned on the little frog that he must be one of Eggman's robots and his horrified expression changed into a devious grin. Big ran forward and dove into the pond, plunging himself into the water. His impact created a giant splash that accidentally jettisoned Froggy from the pond and plopped him to the ground.

Big's Life Belt expanded into something resembling an innertube, lifting him to the surface where he was partially immobilized by the waving water. "Froggy?" Big looked around. His body turned by the water's motion and was able to spot his amphibian friend hopping his way over to an unsuspecting Gamma. "Where are you going, Froggy?" he shouted.

Froggy jumped over to Gamma who turned his attention to the excited frog. Gamma noticed the pointed tail, indicating to him he's the frog Eggman was after.

"This is the right frog." he stated.

"Hey!" Big yelled. "Put my friend down!" he threw his arms back and forth, swimming his way back to solid ground just as Gamma activated the flat, hexagonal jet booster on his back.

The red robot flew up into the air before Big could even get close. The disheartened cat could only stand there and watch as his best friend was taken away right before his eyes. "I'll never give up on you, Froggy!" he profoundly declared. He ran pretty fast for someone of his size to keep up with the fleeing robot.

While he was flying though the air with his precious cargo, Gamma was suddenly hit with an intense wave of white light. It didn't have much of an effect on him like it would an organic being. Moments later, Gamma appeared in a distant land, and Froggy wasn't in his possession anymore. He stood on a grassy stretch of land with a long bridge made of stone connecting it to another large piece of land. Below the bridge flowed a stream of sparkling blue water.

On the other land mass were large, grass-covered rocks and a few trees placed in front of a wall of huge, rocky hills topped with a forest. The center piece of this place was a magnificent shrine, also made of stone, sitting in a shallow pool water perpetually flowing from the shrine itself like a fountain. A semi ring of 7 tall obelisks surrounded the shrine as well as a semi ring of short columns positioned on the outer perimeter. Sitting atop of the obelisks were the 7 Chaos Emeralds.

Though his face didn't show it, Gamma was greatly puzzled by this predicament.

"Accessing data location," he said, scanning the area. "No data. Location is unknown. A problem, this presents."

He then heard something that sounded something akin to singing. Gamma had no idea how to get back to where he was, so he decided to indulge himself and find out where this singing was coming from. He traveled across the wide bridge and the singing grew louder the closer he got. He came to the shrine and paused. Standing before it was a large group of adorable, little, blue creatures. These little guys had large raindrop-shaped heads, short bodies with stubby little arms and feet. On their backs were a pair of tiny, pink wings. They appeared to be singing in unison to the shrine. One Chao, acting as sort of a choirmaster, stood in front of the group directing them. They were known as the Chao.

_Chao-chao-chao-chao-chao, chao-chao, _they sung with little voices. They're singing caused the water in the pool to resonate with each verse. Gamma quietly observed, not sure what to make of all this. He tried to approach closer, but a voice suddenly called out, "Don't get any closer!" He stopped right on the spot.

Behind him was Tikal. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I see you're just enjoying their song."

She walked up to Gamma and stood beside him to watch the Chao as well.

"Were you able to feel the presence protecting these children?" she asked him. "He's a very gentle and caring entity. I was surprised the first time I laid eyes on him. I'm afraid, however, that his power is fierce and unimaginable. If harm were to ever befall these innocent creatures, his wrath would stretch to the far reaches of the planet. And now, my father is trying to take away their sacred home. I pray that day will never come and we can all learn to coexist as one."

Gamma seemed to have been listening to her words, but remained silent about it. Everything around Gamma faded away shortly afterwards. Seconds later, he found himself flying in the air with Froggy still in his possession. This was one experience Gamma chose not to dwell on. All he cared about was returning to his master with the cargo he sought. So with that, he made his way towards the location of the Egg Carrier.


	10. Before the Storm

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 9: Before the Storm**

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Meanwhile…

Since his battle against Chaos 4, Knuckles had collected a large number of shards. His quest almost completed, Knuckles arrived at the site of the ancient temple ruins. As he stood before the temple and gazed at it, images of the vision he had flashed through his mind.

"I think I've just about located the rest of them," he said. "All that's left are the ones inside this temple."

Knuckles pointed his eyes upward and saw that the mysterious light had returned again. "That light again," he remembered. "The same light that show me that vision of the past."

The light hung there in the air, sparkling. It then whispered something to Knuckles. _The door to the past awaits you,_ it said.

" 'Door to the past'?" Knuckles questioned. "What does that mean?"

The light swung over to the temple and passed through its walls. Now, Knuckles was determined to find out what that meant. Especially now since his senses indicated there were shards hidden within the ruins. He raced up the steps of the temple and entered its hallowed interior. Traveling down a flight of steps, he entered a large, circular chamber. Inside was a small, tower-like structure standing on a mound of sand. The surrounding area was filled with water and a shaft of light bathed down on the tower. Sitting on top of it were three big pieces of the Master Emerald. Knuckles jumped up to the top and picked them up. The light appeared before him, causing the fragments to emit an intense light that swallowed him whole.

He remembered what happened the last time this occurred. "This flash again," he strained, shielding his eyes. "It's happening again."

The brightness vanished and Knuckles opened his eyes to see where the light had taken him. He was expecting to be brought back to the village, but that wasn't the case this time around. Instead, his feet were planted on the sacred grounds of the Master Emerald shrine.

"No way," he gasped. "The Master Emerald shrine. I was right. That light has taken me back to the past again."

Looking at the scenery and the shrine's majestic countenance, Knuckles approached with his jaw opened in amazement.

"Its even more magnificent than what I imagined it used to look like," he expressed.

He halted, however, when he saw the young girl, Tikal, standing before the shrine.

"It's that girl again," he recalled. "Tikal, if I remember. What's she doing?"

"Oh, Great Emerald, hear me now," Tikal beseeched. "My father is planning an invasion. He refuses to listen to me and I don't know what to do. You must take everyone away from here and flee."

Knuckles watched from behind, but couldn't make out what she was saying or who she was saying it to. Tikal then walked up the steps of the shrine while observing the 7 Chaos Emeralds shimmering in the sunlight while perched atop their obelisks. Knuckles quietly and carefully followed her. Once he reached the top, his eyes swelled with astonishment. Tikal stood before the altar where the powerful Master Emerald, in all its majestic glory, was placed. It brilliantly shone its aura as if it was actually communicating with Tikal.

"You wish to tell me something?" Tikal asked it. "I see. You're unable to leave this place."

The Master Emerald continued to shine its magnificent light, indicating to Tikal it had more to say. The pure-hearted, young echidna listened with her heart and was able to hear the emerald's consciousness.

"I hear you," she responded. "I will go speak to my father one more time. There just has to be a way to solve this problem."

Tikal was about to take her leave, when a group of Chao showed up and gathered around her. The little guys seemed really concerned and worried about something. _Chao, chao, chao, _they said.

"Don't worry, my friends," Tikal comforted them. "Everything's going to be fine, I promise."

Tikal then walked away just as a bright light appeared. Knuckles watched as it swallowed him up again. He opened his eyes a few seconds later and, much to his great surprise, appeared at the shrine ruins on the fallen Angel Island.

"What's this?" he blinked. "I'm back on Angel Island. That light returned me here, but for what? And just what are these visions trying to tell me?"

Knuckles had so many questions he desperately wanted answers to. But for now, all he could do was use this to his advantage. Being returned to his birthplace had given him the opportunity to see how many pieces of his precious gem he's found so far. He rushed up the steps of the dilapidated structure and stepped over to the altar. He took out his sack and held it up before it. The many shards of the Master Emerald slowly flew out of the sack and over to the altar. They circled around the altar, glowing with a pulsing light before they came together on the spot. A brilliant flash of green light was released as the pieces fused together. From out of the light emerged the Master Emerald, restored to its former grandeur. Or so it seemed. Knuckles took a closer look and saw a large piece missing from one of its edges.

"Its still incomplete," he lamented. "It looks like there's only one more piece left to find, though. But, I've searched everywhere I could. Where else could they be hiding?"

Knuckles tried really hard to come up with a plausible answer. The Master Emerald seemed to be aware of this and answered him in a peculiar way. It projected an image within itself. Knuckles was sort of startled by such a action, but regardless, peered his eyes into the Master Emerald to make out what it was showing him. Shockingly, it was the Egg Carrier!

"That's Eggman's flying fortress," he grasped. "Is that where the last piece is?" He turned his head back, looking at the forests in Mystic Ruins and had a grave look in his eyes. Then he said, "I think it's time to pay Eggman a little house call."

Later on…

He appeared in a forest, searching for the Egg Carrier, but he was having no such luck. He didn't even know exactly where to look, but felt this was the right start.

"Where could Eggman's ship be?" he wondered. "Something that big shouldn't be too hard to find."

He was starting to lose patience when he suddenly heard metallic, thudding footsteps. He quickly darted behind a tree, but kept his eyes peeled, ready for anything. Gamma soon appeared, still with Froggy cradled in his arms. He was the source of the sounds Knuckles was hearing. Knuckles closely eyeballed the robot from his hiding place and deduced, _That looks like one of Eggman's robots._

He came out of hiding as soon as the unsuspecting robot walked away. Fortune had shined upon him again. "Maybe if I follow it, it'll lead me straight to Eggman," he pointed out. He then proceeded to skulk Gamma through the forest.

Big showed up, not far behind. He, too, was following Gamma's trail. "Oh, Froggy," he wept. "Where's that mean robot taking you?"

Gamma, before long, arrived at the Egg Carrier in the glade along with Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, all of whom were holding rather bizarre colored frogs. Knuckles and Big, unaware of each other's presence, were watching from a distance.

"Bingo," said Knuckles.

"There's my buddy," Big said.

The ramp opened up and the robots rushed up, entering the ship. Knuckles and Big moved quickly. Rather than take the front entrance, Knuckles opted instead to sneak on by climbing up the side of the ship. Big, however, impulsively ran through the front entrance. He was, however, smart enough to stay out of sight. He came to a door that lead into a storage closet and remained hidden for the time being. Moments later, the engines activated. All of the trees were swayed by powerful winds as the Egg Carrier lifted up and ascended into the sky. It's destination no one, but Eggman himself, knew. The 4 E-100 robots stood around in the main hall where Gamma was forced to stand by and listen to Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta bicker with each other.

"I have the right frog," claimed Delta.

"No, I have the right one," argued Zeta.

"Mine is the right frog," objected Epsilon.

Gamma, for some reason, refused to partake in his brothers' squabble even though he knew he had the true frog. Eggman's footsteps approaching the room was all that was required to silence them. They lined up next to each other as their villainous master stepped over to them, ready to inspect. He took one look at their frogs and was stricken with angered grief. To him, none of them had the frog he wanted.

"You idiotic scrap brains!" he screamed. "These aren't the right frogs! Do you see any tails? That tailed frog I need possesses Chaos' tail as well as a Chaos Emerald! I can't believe superior models like you could screw up such an easy task! I ought to...huh?" His angered ranting came to a halt when he looked at Gamma and noticed the frog he had sported a tail. "I don't believe it!" he said with a gleeful tone. "You've found the right frog! Good job, Gamma. I knew you'd be useful to me."

The evil doctor's angry eyes were then focused on the other three. Zeta, Delta, and Epsilon all looked worried and rather frightened. They had good reason to be.

"As for the rest of you useless tin cans," he said. "Your disposed."

In a moment of pure ruthlessness, he pressed a button on the wall and beams of light rained down on the 3 robots. Zeta and Epsilon disappeared in the lights, while Delta, before disappearing, took one last look at his brother. Gamma watched as his robotic sibling disappeared right before his very eyes and was left silent. Seeing how cruel and easy it was for Eggman to dispose of them like that stirred mixed feelings within himself. Still, under Eggman's command, Gamma kept silent about it.

Eggman took Froggy from the robot. "Gamma," he said. "Wait here for further instructions. I have more precious cargo to pick up."

Meanwhile…

ZERO had finally arrived in Mystic Ruins near the train depot that lead to Station Square. It still had Amy and Flick in its grasp. Amy kept screaming and pounding on its hand.

"Put me down, you scrap head!" Amy vehemently ordered.

All 3 of them suddenly heard someone whistling to them from above. Perched on the ledge of a mountain above their heads was Sonic. He jumped down and confronted ZERO face-to-face.

"Alright, tinman," he said. "I done playing around. Put Amy down or I'll break you apart, piece by piece."

ZERO didn't respond at all to Sonic's threats. Sonic lost the last of his patience and went in for the attack. He spin-rolled at the robot, but Zero simply flew up in the air, dodging his attack. Sonic's bounced off the ground before he halted himself. ZERO dropped back down and taunted Sonic by throwing its arms in the air.

"Watch it!" a dizzied Amy scowled.

Sonic prepared to attack again, but a shrouding darkness prevented him from taking further action. Sonic remembered what happened the last time this darkness appeared and darted up. To his proven dread, the deadly Egg Carrier had appeared in the sky, hovering right above them.

"The Egg Carrier?" Sonic exclaimed. "Oh, no!"

Before Sonic could make a move, the Egg Carrier beamed down its tractor ray upon ZERO and pulled it and its two captives upward.

"Help me, Sonic!" Amy desperately cried before she and Flick disappeared into the ship.

With the cargo aboard, the Egg Carrier advanced through the sky, passing over some mountains. The mysterious light responded to the crisis and flew down to Sonic.

_Hurry,_ it urged, _Get to the mountaintop, Sonic. You still have time. Take this with you._

It then swarmed Sonic with a mass of swirling lights. They were absorbed into his being causing him to glow neon blue for a brief moment.

_I have bestowed upon you the Ancient Light, _the light said._ Now, you can perform the powerful Light Speed Attack._

After the light bestowed Sonic with this gift, it then promptly disappeared. All that was left was for Sonic to raced forward. He reached the mountain and sped up its rocky surface. When he reached the top, he stepped onto a bluff where he got a real good view of the Egg Carrier as it passed through the clouds. This time, he was determined not to be beaten by it a second time. To begin, he charged up the Light Speed Dash and blazed across a bridge that lead to the edge of another bluff. Next, running at such high speed, he catapulted himself through the air like a rocket. From that point, he jumped from peak to peak with such amazing accuracy and agility. Eventually, he dropped onto a cliff just as the ship passed overhead. The Egg Carrier, unfortunately was too high up for him to reach.

"No!" Sonic cried. He fell to his knees and punched his fist to the ground.

The Egg Carrier has now flown clear into the distance and way out of his reach. Before Sonic could sink himself even deeper in his despair, he heard a whirring sound. To his right he spotted Tails flying in the Tornado II.

"I don't believe it," Sonic thrilled. "Tails, you're okay!"

"Hey, Sonic!" Tails waved to him as he flew the Tornado II towards the cliff. Just as he passed by, Sonic ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped. He landed on the plane and sat himself in the rear seat.

"Ready for a little payback, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"You know it," Sonic grinned.

Sonic and Tails now had the means to pursue the Egg Carrier. Armed with the new, more powerful Tornado II, they were prepared for the second strike against the ship's deadly might. The atmosphere in the sky took on a darker tone as massive, black, and ominous thunderclouds slowly appeared and encompassed it. The epic battle had begun.


	11. Attack on the Egg Carrier

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 10: Attack on the Egg Carrier**

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Thunder roared and lightning flashed in the blackened sky. As Sonic and Tails wondered where this storm suddenly came from, the Egg Carrier appeared in their sights. In the bridge, Eggman was once again perched in his captain's seat. He pressed a button on a panel, activating the ship's intercom system and with it, he called out to Gamma.

"Gamma," he bellowed. "Here's your new assignment. I want you to head to the prison hall and retrieve the bird held in there. Make it snappy."

Gamma, though reluctant at first, complied with his order. He headed down the end of the main hall where a sliding door was and walked through it. Now, Eggman was more than content with the way things were going so far. That all changed when an alarm went off. He ordered his robots to bring the disturbance on screen, but he already had an idea what was going on. Proving him right, the screen displayed an image of the Tornado II.

"I see history has taught them nothing," Eggman laughed. "New plane or not, the outcome will be the same as before."

Outside, Sonic and Tails flew in close enough to mount their attack. Before they did, however, Tails had a special surprise, for both Sonic _and_ Eggman.

"Hang on tight, Sonic!" he told him. "We're going into Jet Mode!"

After he pressed a sequence of buttons and pulled a lever, the Tornado II underwent a most impressive transformation. The propeller was pulled into the hub, a jet engine popped out from the bottom, the 2 pairs of wings morphed and changed position, creating an X-formation, and the tail was raised.

"Whoa, Tails!" Sonic exclaimed in sheer amazement. "This is some plane!"

"You haven't seen anything yet!" Tails boasted.

Faster and more maneuverable than ever, the transformed Tornado II streaked through the sky and launched its first attack. Tails fired the plane's more advanced machine and released dozens of armor-piercing rounds at once. They struck the sides of the Egg Carrier, inflicting moderate damage to its outer hull. The turrets that were destroyed during the last battle had either been repaired or replaced. In either case, they were activated and aimed at the Tornado II. Equipped with new armored, guided missiles, the turrets unleashed a deadly cluster straight at the two heroes.

There were a few too many to all shoot down, but Tails had another tactical, but riskier idea.

"Hold on to your lunch, Sonic!" he exclaimed as he pulled hard on the lever. He sent the Tornado II soaring straight up into the sky. Sonic desperately hung on, his stomach lurching. The Tornado II spun furiously around, causing the missiles flying close behind to follow its movement. The spinning motion threw the missiles off their trajectory, and they eventually collided into one another and exploded in fiery blasts. The Tornado II came out of its spin and flew back down to resume the battle. Sonic sat in his seat with his head spinning and dazed.

"Don't ever do that again," he groaned.

The Tornado II flew over the Egg Carrier and turned around, confronting the battle fortress face-to-face. Eggman was through messing around and decided to up the stakes.

"Enough playing around," he said. "It's time to unleash the full power this vessel really has. Initiate Egg Carrier-Transformation!"

This special order caused the Egg Carrier to undergo a transformation of its own. The gigantic and elongated panels on the ship's side slowly unfolded and spread out like wings. Attached to the wings were the huge, triangular engine clusters. Their secondary functions were now revealed as giant missile launchers. The Egg Carrier had transformed into its battle mode.

"Impressive!" Tails said. "But that won't stop us!"

"You want to bet?" Eggman laughed. "Fire!"

The Egg Carrier's launchers spat out a huge cluster of rockets at the Tornado II, and Sonic simply stood from his seat. He's had enough sitting idly by.

"Now, it's my turn!" he proclaimed. "You and Tails aren't the only ones with fancy tricks up your sleeves. Stand back!"

He jumped out of the plane and hung in the air in a rolling spin. Many glowing spheres of energy were absorbed into his body and a bright, neon blue aura enveloped him. Fully charged, he let loose and flew through the sky in a super-charged hyper spin followed by a sparkling trail of light. He slammed into every rocket with lightning speed, effortlessly destroying them in several explosions that lit up the darkened sky like the 4th of July. Still in his super charge, Sonic then targeted the Egg Carrier itself.

From the bridge, Eggman saw him coming and braced himself. "Aaagghh!" he yelped, trying to shield himself.

Sonic soared over the bridge and targeted the several turrets positioned on the ship. He smashed into one, destroying it instantly and went on to systematically destroy several others. The numerous explosions resulted from such a powerful attack generated enough combined force to physically rock the entire ship. In a large prison cell, Amy and Flick were held up. She sat on the floor in a corner with the little bird. Deep in the bowels of the vessel, Knuckles wandered through a corridor close to the core reactor of the ship. In the upper levels, Big was trying to navigate his way through a hall. Gamma was in a hall on his way to the prison chamber. All who were inside the ship felt the vibrations. Outside, Sonic flew back to the Tornado II and unrolled just as Tails swooped down and caught him back in his seat.

"That was amazing!" Tails applauded.

"Eat this!" Eggman barked. "Fire the Eggbeam Cannon!"

The nose of the ship opened up, revealing the power cannon. This time, however, things were going to play out a little differently.

"Give me your best shot, Eggman!" Tails dared. "I'm ready for you this time!"

The cannon powered up by drawing in energy from the reactor which it then blasted at the Tornado in the form of its deadly beam. The Tornado II sharply dodged the death ray by jumping upward. The beam cut clear through the sky and the cannon was forced to recharge. Tails seized the limited opportunity and counterattacked by discharging a series of piercing rounds straight into the mouth of the cannon. This influx set off an explosion that completely destroyed the cannon in a highly damaging blast inflicted on most of the ship. With this stage of the battle apparently over, Tails was now ready to land on the Egg Carrier itself.

"Great!" Sonic said. "Now, we can land on the Egg Carrier!"

"Uh, oh," Tails gulped. "I forgot the Tornado II doesn't have any landing gear in this mode! Get ready for a bumpy landing!"

"Say what?" Sonic yelled.

The Tornado II dove down to the Egg Carrier's airstrip, but without the landing gear Tails, mentioned, their touchdown was less then smooth. Sparks flew as the plane's metal frame roughly skidded across the asphalt before it came to a slow stop. Sonic and Tails have successfully landed on the Egg Carrier. They disembarked the Tornado II and beheld their new and dreaded environment. Darkness, thunder, lightning, and heavy winds all pervaded the foreboding atmosphere.

"Well, we made it, Tails," said Sonic who took all of it in stride. "Now, let's go rescue Amy!"

The two of them were about to take action, but Dr. Eggman's sinister bellowing through the speakers forced them into a halt.

"Don't get any ideas, you fools!" he threatened. "Don't think for a minute you're in the clear. This battleship possesses more power than you realize!"

"Blah, blah, blah," Sonic mocked. "Are you going do something or just sit there and brag all day?"

Upon the doctor's command, the missile launchers unleashed a volley of rockets into the sky, all them targeting Sonic and Tails. The quick-footed hero grabbed his best friend's hand and sped across the Egg Carrier's deck in a serpentine fashion. With such quick movements he was able to easily dodge the explosive storm. The missiles collided into the surface, exploding and rupturing parts of the ship's hull. Eggman was forced to watch as his precious Egg Carrier sustained even more damage, mostly by his own hand.

"I've come too far now to let that hedgehog ruin my plans," says Eggman. "It's time to move onto the next phase."

Meanwhile…

Gamma proceeded down a hall per Eggman's orders. At the end, he came upon 3 doors; one in front of him and 2 on the sides. Confusion rattled within the robot's mind as he looked at each of the doors and couldn't deduce the correct one.

"Is this the right room?" he wondered as he looked at the door on his right.

He took a chance and entered. What was inside was not a pretty sight. The room was dim, but Gamma could see perfectly. Further into the interior, he came across a pile of discarded, black&silver robotic parts belonging to a familiar robot. To his silent horror, he saw his brother, E-101Beta, on a raised platform and hooked up to a large and rather torturous-looking machine. Drills, welding devices, and other tools connected to mechanical arms were working on the robot, outfitting him with new, more advanced parts. He didn't look like what he used to be. Ever silent, Gamma just stared at him for a few minutes, only uttering his name once. "Beta?"

Afterwards, he backed away and left the room undisturbed. Though he was greatly curious what that was about, he decided it was best not to dwell on the subject and carry out the order Eggman had given him. In doing so, he took another chance and entered the door on the left. Luckily for him, it lead straight into the prison hall. Amy and Flick were still held up in their cell. The noise from the battle taking place above had Flicky on edge. Amy kept him close to her as it was all she could do to console him.

"Don't worry, Flick," she petted him. "When Sonic rescues us, everything's going to be alright. He's always been there for me when I really needed him and he's not going to disappoint me now. Just wait and see."

It was at that moment Gamma came to her cell. He faced Amy and she was not happy to see him. "What do you want?" she snapped at him.

"Give me the bird," Gamma calmly replied.

"No way!" Amy fiercely objected.

"The doctor commands you hand over the bird," Gamma told her.

Again, Amy strongly refused. Especially since this order came from Eggman, the one person she despises most of all. Amy's strong protective instincts over Flick and her adamant defiance to Eggman were puzzling to Gamma. To him, he wondered why she was risking his wrath over something he thought was insignificant.

"Illogical," he said. "You risk yourself over something you know nothing about.

Amy could see the confusion behind those words. She gained the notion that such feelings differentiated him from Eggman's other, mindless, robots. It was then she knew he could be reasoned with, so she gave it a try.

"I can tell you're different from Eggman's other robots," she told him. "Any other robot would've just taken Flick from me, but you…Can't you help us out instead and let us go?"

Gamma was taken aback but such a request. "No…," he paused. "Against Doctor's orders."

Amy didn't back down. "Please," she begged. "I can see you have a heart underneath that metal frame. That proves you don't belong with Eggman. If you help us out, you can come with Flick and I."

The gunner robot became overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. He couldn't decide whether to help Amy, the only person who has shown him kindness, as doing so would go directly against Eggman, the one person whom he feared the most. Flick saw the turmoil within him and flew out of Amy's hands and up to the robot's face. As Gamma stared into Flick's big eyes, memories of his brothers and their cruel end flashed in his mind. Then, something snapped inside him. He turned and pressed a large switch on the floor which opened Amy's cell door. With his back turned, he said to her, "Go, It is too dangerous here. We'll be flying over Station Square soon."

Amy stepped out of her cell and turned to Gamma who, for some reason, didn't want to lay eyes on her. Amy was very grateful, regardless. "Thank you, Mr. Robot," she warmly said. "I knew you're weren't a bad robot at all. Maybe after this, we can become friends. See'ya later!"

She and Flick quickly left the hall while Gamma remained with his back turned. He wondered if he did the right thing and feared what Eggman would do to him if he found out. Just then, a bright light manifested before his eyes and shrank, forming into the mysterious orb of light.

_A robot with a heart,_ it said to him. _An important destiny awaits you. I bestow this gift to you. Use it well._

Gamma's missile launcher glowed with a white light. He held it up as it was magically converted into a powerful tri-barreled missile blaster. Despite his new advanced weapon, Gamma didn't seem too excited about it and just watched as the light vanished into thin air.


	12. Panic in the Sky

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 11: Panic in the Sky**

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Amy and Flick escaped the corridor and entered the main hall. Amy looked ahead and saw the exit on the far end.

"That must be the way out, Flick," she said. "Let's blow this place."

The mysterious light appeared before the two at that moment and sprang a bright flash on the two, engulfing them both. They emerged from out of the light and stepped into the world of the past where they stood before the Master Emerald shrine. The two of them kept blinking their eyes, wondering if all of this was real.

"Where are we?" Amy wanted to know. "Some kind of paradise?"

Flick chirped, pointing Amy to something. Tikal was standing outside the ring of columns that encircled the shrine.

"Who's she?" Amy wondered. "She kind of looks like Knuckles."

Tikal approached a group of Chao playing together. "You must be the Chao," she said.

The Chao nervously backed away from the stranger, fearing she might harm them. Tikal stood there, feeling sort of hurt. "It's okay," she tried to assure. "I won't hurt you."

The Chao still didn't seem to trust her. Tikal sat herself on the ground with a bit of sadness in her eyes. All she wanted was a friend. Her feelings of peace and joy had her feel like an outcast in her battle-hardened clan. This has caused her to feel very lonely in this world. One of the Chao sensed this and slowly approached her, much to the chagrin of the other Chao. It walked up to the saddened girl and patted her on the leg.

"Thank you," Tikal softly said. She picked up the little creature and held it in close to her.

The Chao felt the warmth Tikal was exuding and waved to the others to come over. The rest of the Chao gathered around her and felt the same thing.

"Does this mean we can all be friends?" Tikal asked them.

In their response, one of the Chao grabbed her hand and tried to drag her over to the shrine. Tikal stood up and followed the little guy over to the shrine, stopping at the foot of the stairs. The Chao then called out to it. The water flowing in the pool rippled and chimed, drawing Tikal's attention. She observed the water just as something begun to rise from it. Tikal gasped and backed away as a watery creature emerged from the pool. Before Amy could even make out what it was, she and Flick were immediately whisked away by another bright light. The both of them were returned to the main hall of the Egg Carrier where upon Amy found a large, red&white, feathered ornament in her hair.

"What just happened?" she wondered aloud. "And where did this come from?"

The mysterious light appeared to Amy and Flick and explained, _This is the Warrior Feather. In battle, it will endow you with the strength and courage to overcome any adversity. You will need it in the coming trials._ It promptly vanished afterwards.

"That was weird," Amy blinked. "What did that light mean by 'coming trials'?"

More booms followed by the shaking of the ship occurred. This was Amy's cue to hurry. She and Flick raced over to the end of the room and exited the door. They appeared outside, on the Egg Carrier's deck.

"Let's hurry," Amy hasted.

Before she and Flick could even get far, a familiar and evil voice called out, "Where do you think you're going, Amy?" Amy and Flick froze on the spot. As lightning streaked through the stormy sky, the malevolent Dr. Eggman dropped down in his Eggmobile with a most fiendish smile on his face. Amy held Flick tightly in her arms and away from Eggman who had his eyes set on him. Normally, Amy didn't fear Eggman that much, but with Flick at stake, she couldn't take any chances. Before Eggman tried to make a move against them, Sonic and Tails heroically showed up in the sky; Tails was flying while holding onto Sonic's hand.

"Hold it right there, Eggman!" Sonic yelled. He released himself from Tails' grip and dropped to the floor in front of Amy who was all too happy to see him.

"You did come for me,"Amy cried.

"Party's over, Eggman," Sonic said.

"On the contrary," Eggman retorted. "It's only just begun." He suddenly darted his Eggmobile's robotic arm darted around Sonic and at Amy. Flick was snatched out her arms in the blink of an eye and delivered to Eggman's grasp.

"No!" Amy shrieked. "Flick!"

"Give him back, Eggman!" Sonic demanded.

Eggman hoisted Flick up in his hand. As the little avian struggled to free himself, the egg-shaped doctor flipped open his locket, and out popped a cyan-colored, glowing jewel, much to everyone's surprise.

"A Chaos Emerald!" Tails exclaimed.

In light of his new acquisition, Eggman showed a bit of mercy and released Flick who flew back to Amy. That was short-lived, however.

"I believe you all have outlived your usefulness," he said. "Gamma!"

Gamma was still in the prison hall and hasn't moved an inch since. He heard his master's voice through the speakers and, though he was reluctant to, went to him. Sonic and the others waited outside to see who Eggman was calling. Before long, the doors to the main hall slid open and Gamma revealed himself to the group, to Amy and Flick's surprise.

What is your wish, Master Eggman?" he asked.

"I have new orders for you," Eggman said to his minion. He pointed at Sonic and told him, "See this blue hedgehog? Destroy him at once."

"Aye-yi, Sir," Gamma complied.

With that, Eggman took his new Chaos Emerald and flew away towards the far end of the Egg Carrier. Sonic and Gamma faced each other, Sonic being dwarfed by Gamma's tall stature.

"You ready?" Sonic asked him.

Amy quickly rushed in between them. Sonic was unaware of Gamma's previous benevolent actions.

"Sonic, stop!" she begged, then turned to Gamma. "Mr. Robot!"

Gamma didn't pay heed to Amy's words this time. He pointed his new blaster and simultaneously shot 3 small rockets at Sonic, but the speedy hedgehog simply jumped high into the air. The rockets crashed into the surface, blasting a gaping hole in the deck. Gamma activated his jet booster and followed Sonic into the air. Sonic landed on the surface and Gamma, hanging in the air, tried to lock onto him with his laser. Sonic zipped from one spot to another, effortlessly avoiding his sights.

"Too slow!" he boasted.

Gamma came up with a new tactic and puts his laser away. Then, he and pointed his blaster at the surface.

"What's he doing?" Tails nervously wondered.

The E-100 robot discharged 9 missiles, all aimed at the surface. He did this in hopes that one of these would hit Sonic. A reckless move Sonic was prepared for. He ran around the deck as the missiles rained down around him. They crashed into the surface and exploded on impact, destroying everything they touched. Tails ducked Amy down to the ground as explosions of fire blasted everywhere. Clouds of smoke erupted from the destruction and shrouded the battle field. Gamma hovered above, waiting for the smoke to clear, but then, Sonic flew out of the smoke in a rolling-spin.

"I'm bringing you down!" he declared. True to his word, his rolling body spun around Gamma and struck him in the back. The E-Robot was knocked out of the air and hit the ground hard with a loud, metallic clang. Sonic dropped back down while Gamma tried to pick his battered body up off of the ground, and ran towards him for the finishing blow. But, the unexpected happened; Amy ran in front of Gamma and refused to move. Sonic was forced to skid to a stop.

"That's enough, Sonic," Amy ordered. "Leave him alone."

"Move aside, Amy," Sonic told her. "He's one of Eggman's flunkies."

Amy shook her head at Sonic. "This robot's different," she objected. "He helped Flick and I escape. He's our friend. Please, leave him alone."

Sonic looked into Amy's eyes and the seriousness that was in them. He thought about it for a moment, then smiled, "Alright, Amy. If you say so, I guess he's okay. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

Amy happily smiled at Sonic and tensions were flared down for the moment, but it wasn't to last. Before they knew it, the Egg Carrier violently quaked.

"What was that?" Sonic shook.

"The Egg Carrier!" Tails panicked. "Sonic, I think this ship is losing altitude! We're about to plummet into the sea!"

Tails couldn't have been more right. The extensive damage the Egg Carrier had sustained from the battles so far had finally taken its toll. The ship was very slowly, but surely, falling through the clouds. The time for games was over.

"We don't have much time, Tails," Sonic pointed out. "Take Amy and Flick and get out of here."

"But what about you?" Amy worried.

"I'm going to find Eggman and put an end to this mess once and for all." Sonic replied.

Tails was very hesitant about such a drastic course of action. "But, Sonic…", he said.

Sonic was unyielding from his decision and time was running out. "We don't have time to argue, Tails," he told him. "Get moving. I'm counting on you to keep Amy safe." He was bent on seeing this to the end and Tails understood. Still, he didn't want to leave like this. Sonic then looked directly into Tails' eyes, and the young fox realized it was pointless to object any further.

"Don't worry, you two," Sonic smiled. "I promise I'll be back soon. Til' then." With that, he zoomed off to look for Eggman.

With Sonic gone, Amy focused her attention on Gamma who had healed from his injuries. "What about you, Mr. Robot?" she asks him.

Gamma continued to be baffled by her concern for him. "Why are you helping me?" he wondered.

"I told you," Amy tapped him. "After this is through, we can be friends."

After Tails called over to her, she waved him goodbye. Tails took her hand and flew up into the sky. Before they disappeared, they turned back to Gamma. Amy had some final words of wisdom to give to her new friend.

"You're free from Eggman now!" she said. "You can now live your life the way you want to! Don't be afraid to look us up! Goodbye, Mr. Robot!"

After those words, she, Tails, and Flick vanished into the sky.

Gamma watched the direction they went in and said, "Bye...friend." He then activated his jet booster and took off in the other direction.

Meanwhile, inside the halls of the Egg Carrier, Big navigated his way through the shifting corridors to find Froggy.

"Froggy!" he called out. "Where are you?"

The corridor shook from the battle taking place above and caused Big to fall to the floor on his belly.

"Oohhh," he sadly moaned. "I don't know what I'd do without my little buddy. We've never been apart."

As he wept a little, his large, sensitive ears picked up on something. They sounded like croaking sounds and they were coming from behind a large door with Eggman's insignia painted on it. "Froggy?" Big perked. He picked himself up off the floor and headed for the door which lead him into a large storage room.

"Froggy, are you in here?" he looked around. _Rrriiibbiitt, _he heard. He angled his head up and found Froggy in a big tank of water sitting on a shelf. "I found you!" he hollered with joy. The big cat tried to climb the shelf, but quickly backed away when his weight tipped it. "Ohh, I can't climb up to get you," he whimpered.

The Egg Carrier violently shook and sent the room to tilt into a small slant. Big fell over on his back and the tank containing Froggy slipped off the shelf.

"Froggy!" Big screamed.

Before the tank hit the floor, he quickly lunged forth and caught it and Froggy in his hands. He then just laid their while he waited for his heart to stop thumping. He stood up and popped the lid off. "I got you, Froggy!" he cried with joy. He took his friend out of the tank and hugged him close and tight. Froggy seemed to be back to his old self again as he was equally happy to see Big again as well.

"We're together again at last," Big proclaimed, and as he and Froggy celebrated their reunion, the mysterious light showed once again. It circled around Big and showered him in dazzling lights. He shut his eyes as an intense, white light flashed out. Seconds later, the round cat appeared before the Master Emerald shrine. Froggy, however, wasn't with him.

"Froggy?" Big wondered. "He's gone again. Maybe he's over in that pool."

He rushed over to the water flowing from the shrine, but found Tikal instead. Once again, she was standing before the mystical monument. The water seemed to possess a consciousness of its own as it softly resonated in her presence.

"Is it okay for me to be here?" Tikal asked the entity.

The water rippled a few times, apparently responding to her question. Tikal herself was able to read its thoughts. "You trust me?" she followed. "Thank you."

Welcomed, she respectfully walked up the steps of the shrine. Along the way, she observed the 7 Chaos Emeralds glistening atop the obelisks. "So, these are the 7 Emeralds," she noted. Followed by Big from a distance, she reached the top of the shrine. To her amazement, she saw the Master Emerald resting on the altar.

"How beautiful," she beheld.

It was then that something dawned on her and she turned her eyes on the Chaos Emeralds.

" 'The servers are the 7 Chaos'," she spoke, then looked back at the Master Emerald and continued, "Unified by the controller."

She stared at the Master Emerald while looking at the Chaos Emeralds as well. Following this, she drew upon a startling conclusion.

"Are...are you the one who controls the 7 Chaos?" she asked the Master Emerald.

Before an answer was uttered, another bright light came upon Big. Right after, the big cat reappeared outside on the Egg Carrier. He was standing on a gigantic, green, and circular platform. Underneath its thick, glass surface were many spinning mechanisms. Big was completely baffled by how and why he got here, but, the good news was that Froggy was back in his arms.

"Froggy?" he questioned. "Was I just dreaming? How did we get out here? We need to find a way out of here."

He turned around and saw the Tornado II laying on the airstrip exactly where Sonic and Tails left it. He tried to make a move for it, but something big suddenly dropped from the sky and landed in front of him. Big didn't see it in time and accidentally crashed into it, tumbling himself to the ground while dropping Froggy in the process. Sitting up, the big cat rubbed his head and opened his eyes. Stunned with terror, he stared up into the glowing and piercing eyes of Chaos 4. More trouble arrived in the form of Eggman, who flew in, riding in his Eggmobile.


	13. Endgame

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 12: Endgame**

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, since the Egg Carrier last took off, Knuckles had been keeping busy, looking for the final piece of the Master Emerald. Despite all the ruckus taking place above, he was too deeply focused. Deep below, he had smashed his way through several floors. Eventually, he crashed down into the core chamber. This was a giant space filled with all sorts of advanced, high-tech machinery. In the center sat a huge generator powered by a bright, red energy core that filled the chamber with a red glow. Knuckles entire body was glaring from it.

"I must be in the generator room," the echidna inquired.

He looked towards the generator and saw before his eyes a rather large piece of the Master Emerald levitating in a glowing light in front of the machine. It was revolving around the machine like a satellite.

"The final piece of the Master Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed.

He scurried to the generator and immediately grabbed a hold of the jewel piece. He held it close and gazed at his reflection in it.

"At long last," he contented. "My mission is completed."

He then closed his eyes and focused on something. The fragment pulsed and shrank down to the size of a small stone. He put it away and turned around, when he saw the mysterious light. It was floating in the air in front of the exit. It phased through and Knuckles deduced it was showing him the way out.

Back on the giant, circular platform, Big and Froggy were confronted by Eggman and Chaos 4. Eggman flew over to Chaos 4's side and snickered at Big.

"Escapees at every which turn," he said.

Chaos 4's attention was strongly focused on the two, but more specifically at Froggy.

"Oh, yes, Chaos," Eggman noticed. "That little frog has something you want."

He then held up the Chaos Emerald he got from Flick which set off a strange reaction in Froggy. His body begun glowing yellow in the jewel's presence. Then, his mouth was force open and the yellow Chaos Emerald he swallowed was spat up. Both emeralds were then flung at Chaos 4 and absorbed into his body. Shining light radiated from the blue creature's being as a new evolution, unlike any before, triggered. The light grew intense and Chaos 4 emerged as a giant, 25-foot insectoid monster. He was no longer even vaguely humanoid, but now an amalgam with several different features. He had a frog-like body, six insect-like legs, and eight spider-like eyes. New to this form were a pair of jaws lined with 2 large pairs of sharp teeth and his brain, now situated in the center of his body, has grown to the size of a boulder. Finally, the bones in his hind legs held 2 Chaos Emeralds while the skeletal formation behind his brain supported the other 4. Evolved into the immensely powerful Chaos 6, the creature cried out a monstrous and mighty roar.

"And don't forget about your tail, Chaos," Eggman reminded.

Chaos 6 slowly turned his new bulky body around. He glared at Froggy and opened his fanged jaws. With a powerful vacuum-like force, the monstrous beast inhaled Froggy and swallowed him like a pill.

"Froggy!" Big helplessly cried.

Froggy helplessly floated around inside Chaos 6's watery body. His tail soon disappeared and Chaos 6 subsequently sprouted a long, zigzagged, scorpion-like tail. As Eggman laughed joyously in a maniacal manner, Sonic suddenly smashed through the windows of the bridge from the inside in a spin and spun through the air, landing on the giant platform. It had been a while since they last saw each other, so Sonic was quite shocked to see the newly empowered Chaos 6.

"Holy cow!" he exclaimed. "Someone's certainly been taking their vitamins."

"Help me save Froggy!" Big pleaded Sonic.

Sonic noticed Froggy floating around Chaos 6's innards. "So, he's your friend, is he?" he figured. "Don't worry, I'll save him."

He jumped into the air and spin-rolled at Chaos 6. Surprisingly, he rammed into the beast and was suddenly bounced right off of him. He landed backwards, shocked his attack failed.

"It's like hitting rubber," he said.

"Nice try, Sonic!" Eggman laughed. "No form of attack can penetrate Chaos' new, more powerful body!"

By this point in their history, Chaos 6 had come to despise Sonic as much as Eggman. Annoyed by the hedgehog's attempts, he extended several long tentacles from his body. Sonic dodged the first one, but another one came down and slapped him to the floor.

_Oooff,_ he groaned.

Meanwhile, back in the lower levels of crippling ship, Knuckles still trailed behind the mysterious light as it lead him through the tilting halls.

"What's going on?" he wondered "This ship keeps rocking back and forth. I just hope I can make it out of here in one piece."

The light suddenly came to a stop and hovered over Knuckles. The wild echidna had a feeling what was about to happen next, and he was right. The glowing orb radiated a blinding red light that showered itself on Knuckles.

"Oh, no," he moaned with annoyance. "Not again."

Within a flash, he stepped onto the grounds of the Master Emerald shrine. But, this time was very different than what his previous experiences were. The darkened night sky was filled with twinkling stars, but down below, destruction reigned. The once beautiful and sacred grounds had been attacked, and everything was up in burning flames. The whole area was aglow with a bright, orange light. Knuckles was truly horrified by such a grisly sight.

"What happened here?" he dismayed.

He looked ahead and saw Tikal laying injured on the ground. He quickly rushes to her aid held her up as she slowly opened her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "What happened?"

Tikal's eyes were filled with such sadness and horror.

"I tried to prevent this disaster," she cried. "But it was no use. They came...and then my father...I can't believe this is happening."

Knuckles observed as everything from the trees to the grass burned away. The flames were even attacking the shrine itself. Far away, a terrifying, reptilian, sea monster screamed out a shrilling and terrible roar whose echo was powerful enough to reach the shrine. It caught Knuckles' attention and, as wondered what it was, Tikal rose to her feet and ran to the shrine, specifically towards the Master Emerald.

"Wait!" Knuckles shouted.

He tried to run after her, but bright light came down from the sky. Just as quickly as it appeared, Knuckles was returned to the spot he was a few moments ago in the Egg Carrier. This was one experience he couldn't erase from his mind.

"That was horrifying," he cringed. "What the heck happened that night? And what was that sound I heard? Do all these visions have something to do with what's been going on? That girl, the Master Emerald, that chaos creature?"

While the muddled echidna tried to piece together everything he's been through lately, the Egg Carrier quaked, nearly knocking him to the floor. He managed to brace himself against the wall. "I can figure this all out later," he said. "But first, I need to find a way out of here."

Back on the giant platform, Sonic's fight with Chaos 6 continued. Using his long, grasshopper-like hind legs, Chaos 6 sprung himself high into the air and crashed down on the floor with tremendous force. A powerful, violet shockwave radiated from impact and slammed into both Sonic and Big, knocking them hard to the floor. Sonic slowly got back to his knees, but still smiled confidently.

"I'm not down yet," he boasted.

Big sat up and watched Froggy continue to float around helplessly inside Chaos 6's body. It was at this point that Big has had enough. Every time he came close to catching Froggy, something always happened to tear them apart again, but enough was enough. With a determined look in his eyes, he stood up and swiftly deployed his Power Rod.

"I'll save you, Froggy!" he proclaimed, and with all his might, he cast his line into Chaos 6's body. Froggy saw the lure and swam over to it as fast as he could and bit on. Big then tried to pull him out of the monster's body.

Chaos 6 shifted his attention from Sonic to Big and slowly crawled towards him. Big didn't move an inch in the face of such danger, so Sonic was forced to intervene on his behalf. He jumped in front the big cat and tried to push back against Chaos 6. "Hurry!" he shouted to Big.

Big saw how Sonic was protecting him and pulled hard with all the strength his body could muster up. Finally, he extracted Froggy from Chaos 6's watery body, and his little buddy flew through the air and landed in Big's hands. "Froggy!" Big rejoiced.

_Rrriiibbiitt!_ Froggy happily croaked.

Chaos 6 grew another tentacle and swung it down at Sonic, but the hedgehog jumped out of the way of his attack.

"You got your friend back," Sonic said to Big. "Now, hurry and get out of here."

After thanking him, Big complied with Sonic's instruction and fled towards the rear of the Egg Carrier, on the airstrip. There, he went to the Tornado II. Too big to fit into either seat, he placed Froggy in the front seat and jumped on top of the plane itself.

"I wonder how to work this?" he pondered while looking at all of the buttons.

Largely confused by the visually complex controls, Big just pressed a random sequence of buttons and switches which, strangely, activated the Tornado II's engine. The plane skidded across the airstrip and towards the end of the ship. Big and Froggy clutched on tight as the plane ran off the airstrip and wildly into the sky.

_Aaaaahhhhhhhh! _Big screamed.

The Tornado II spiraled downward and disappeared into the black clouds. Back to the battle, Sonic was brought to the near-point of exhaustion while Chaos 6 hasn't even broken a sweat yet.

_He's definitely gotten stronger since our last throwdown,_ Sonic thought. _None of my attacks have even fazed him in the slightest. But I've still got one trick up my sleeve._

"What's the matter, Sonic?" Eggman taunted. "Feeling exhausted? Why don't you cool off?"

He held up a small, egg-shaped device called an ice grenade and threw it at Sonic. Sonic, however, easily jumped out of the way and the grenade harmlessly hit the floor.

"What was that?" Sonic laughed.

"No matter," Eggman shrugged. "You're obviously outmatched by Chaos this time. Now, my pet, crush him already!"

Several more tentacles sprouted from Chaos 6's body. Sonic looked as the dozens of tentacles waved around before Chaos 6 threw them in his direction. Sonic jumped high into the air just the appendages slammed into the floor, shattering through the thick glass. Sonic spin-rolled on the spot and charged up his Light Speed Attack.

"Let's see you withstand this!" he said.

Fully charged, he shot at Chaos 6 in a hyper spin and, with great force, flew around the behemoth, landing several successive strikes. Chaos 6, unfortunately, didn't even seem to feel his attacks. Sonic's lightning fast assault eventually ended, but was aghast when he laid eyes on Chaos 6 who wasn't even fazed in the slightest.

"No way!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "That was my best attack."

Chaos 6 moved towards Sonic, swinging his tentacles. Sonic was exhausted, but absolutely refused to be beaten. He jumped over the first and somersaulted under the second, but a third one dropped from behind and pinned him to the floor. Sonic struggled to break free, but he was to weakened to lift himself. Chaos 6 was now ready for the killing blow and shaped his body into something resembling a giant vase. His tail had greatly enlarged and extended way past its normal length. A huge, orange blade of slicing energy formed at the tip and hung above Sonic's pinned body like a deadly pendulum .

_I'm done for! Sonic cried._

"This is the moment I've been waiting for!" Eggman's heart raced.

Chaos 6 raised his tail up before bringing it down at full force. Sonic shut his eyes tight, prepared for the end, but from out of nowhere, Knuckles suddenly dashed in and broke Chaos 6's tail attack with a strong and fast punch. Taken aback, Chaos 6 reshaped and backed away, losing his grip on Sonic in the process. His heart racing, the heroic hedgehog quickly shot back up.

"Knuckles!" he and Eggman both shouted in surprise.

"Here I am again, saving your pitiful behind," Knuckles gloated.

"I don't know how you got here, Knuckles," Eggman said. "But Chaos will be more than glad to destroy you both."

"We have to be really careful this time, Knuckles," Sonic cautioned. "Nothing seems to be able to pierce that oversized jellyfish's hide."

"Maybe my Shovel Claws will prove differently," Knuckles objected. "Watch this."

He then equipped his Shovel Claws on and charged at Chaos 6. With his mighty, bladed fist held forward, he jumped at the powerful leviathan and struck his side. As is did with Sonic's last attack, Chaos 6's body repelled Knuckles' attack. Knuckles held his fist in place and kept applying to pressure, hoping he'd be able pierce the chaos creature's body. While Sonic watched, uncertain this would work, he noticed Eggman's ice grenade was still laying on the floor and an idea then formed in his mind.

"Knuckles!" he called, "Come back!" He then rolled across the floor and grabbed the grenade.

Knuckles reluctantly heeded Sonic's ordered and jumped back and ran over to Sonic's side.

"I was just about to break through," he griped.

"Yeah, right," Sonic sarcastically said.

Chaos 6 faced the blue and red duo and opened his mouth. He then inhaled with vacuum-like force in an attempt to absorb both Sonic and Knuckles.

"He's trying to suck us in!" Knuckles exclaimed.

He clutched to the edge of the platform to hold himself in place and then grabbed a hold of Sonic's arm.

"Hold on a little longer," Sonic urged him.

Holding the grenade in his hand, he pressed a switch on it and released it. The grenade was sucked and absorbed into Chaos 6's body, and in seconds, it went off, releasing a blast of sub-zero energy throughout his entire being. Chaos 6 cried loudly as his body begun to solidify. In mere moments, the great leviathan's entire body was frozen in solid ice. Defeated, he stood on the spot like giant, glistening statue.

"Alright, Knuckles," Sonic said. "Knock yourself out."

"With pleasure!" Knuckles grinned.

He went in and delivered a powerful punch, striking Chaos 6. The beast's entire body cracked and exploded into hundreds of frozen ice fragments. The darkened air was filled with thousands of sparkling ice particles and, following his destruction, the 6 Chaos Emeralds were dropped to the floor. Afterward, Sonic caught sight of Eggman trying to escape off of the ship.

"Not so fast, Eggman," he exclaimed as he quickly ran up to fleeing doctor. He caught up to Eggman and latched onto him.

"Get off me, you cretin!" Eggman screamed.

He and Sonic tangled with each other as they fell off the Egg Carrier. Knuckles was now the only one remaining on the crippled ship. He looked down at the Chaos Emeralds that were now scattered on the floor.

"I'd better take these with me," he said and gathered the emeralds together into his sack.

An explosion suddenly burst within the interior of the ship, rocking the entire vessel. Huge fires blasted their way through numerous corridors, destroying everything in their path.

"I better hightail it out of here!" Knuckles exclaimed. He ran to the edge of the ship and leapt off.

He glided through the sky just as several more explosions blasted around the ship. The once mighty Egg Carrier had fallen from its place in the sky. Plummeting from out of the clouds, the battleship crashed into the ocean in a gigantic and roaring wave. Its dark and deadly voyage had finally come to an end.


	14. Revenge of the Egg

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 13: Revenge of the Egg**

**

* * *

**Following its fall, the dark and ominous storm clouds that filled the sky begun to disperse. Knuckles used all of his power to glide himself back to Angel Island. With his mission now completed, he had only one single task left to do. The proud warrior stood before the shrine ruins with his heart beating loudly. Without saying a word, he marched himself up the steps and slowly approached the altar. The incomplete Master Emerald remained in place, rotating on its altar. Knuckles took out its final, remaining shard and held it before the green stone. The shard grew back to its original size and levitated over to the Master Emerald and melded with it in a bright shine. A powerful light was then emitted from the Master Emerald as it was fully restored.

"I did it," Knuckles said with a much satisfied tone. "All is well now. The Master Emerald and Angel Island have finally been restored."

Knuckles watched as the Master Emerald continued to shine. Before long, the entire island rumbled and shook. Then, miraculously, it lifted itself from the ocean surface. It rose higher and higher, back to its home in the sky. With everything back to normal, Knuckles sat on the stairs of the shrine, doing exactly what he was doing before, on that fateful night; contemplating his life.

_I'll probably be living on this island for the rest of my life,_ he thought. _Guarding the Master Emerald again. I may not know the whole story surrounding this, but I'm okay with that. For the first time, in a long time, I'm finally at peace._

Later on, the sunset sky above Station Square was slowly shifting to night. After dropping off Amy and Flick at Amy's apartment, Tails had spent all of his time waiting for Sonic to return. He flew through the air around numerous buildings, trying to find out if he got off of the Egg Carrier safely.

"Where is Sonic?" he wondered. "I sure hope he got off the Egg Carrier in time."

He soon felt tired and descended down to the ground, near the city's edge. While he caught his breath, his eyes were soon focused on something he spotted in the sky.

"What's that?" he blinked.

The image was too hard to make out at first, but Tails peered eyes closely and was able to see it clearly. To his surprise, it was Dr. Eggman!

"Eggman?" he pondered. "What's he doing up there? And what happened to Sonic?"

Hovering above the grand metropolis in his Eggmobile, Eggman hung there, still and quite. After suffering a big defeat, he was left a near-broken, shell of a man.

"This can't be," he softly mourned. "Chaos has been destroyed and now my precious Egg Carrier is gone."

While Tails continued to closely eye him, Eggman's expression was soon changed from one of sad mourning to one of utter fury.

"I can't let them get away with this," he snarled. "I may be down, but I'm certainly not out."

He turned around and faced the ocean. That was when Tails got suspicious. The vengeful doctor pulled out a remote and pressed a big, red button on it. Out in the ocean, something stirred. Several people, including Tails, gathered near the shore to see what was happening. The spot in the ocean turned from ripples, to bubbles, and then to waves as a giant, cylindrical object on a platform rose from its depths. It was a giant, armed missile! The white, destructive weapon bore Eggman's insignia which was clearly seen by the people.

"What is that thing?" asked a man.

"I'm scared, daddy," a young girl cried to her father.

"It's a missile!" exclaimed a woman.

"So long, Station Square!" Eggman called out. He pressed another button, activating the missile's thrusters.

It launched into the sky and turned over as it flew over Station Square. Everybody watched in terror as the missile soared over their heads and dropped down where it crashed and lodged itself into the side of a tall building. Everyone cringed, expecting a massive explosion, but nothing appeared to happened. Was it a dud?

"Are we alive?" a woman asked as she and everyone all looked at each other and collectively heaved out a sigh of relief. Tails, however, wasn't so sure they were safe.

Eggman flew above them to rain on their happy parade.

"Enjoy these final moments, you hapless twits," he said with a dastardly grin. "Because in about 10 minutes, you and your city are about to be blown to bits!"

He then flew away, laughing and the people were left to really panic. A red timer then appeared on the missile's panel and began the count down.

"We're finished!" cried a teenaged boy.

Tails was still in the crowd, totally unaware that he was their only hope. That was when everyone turned to him.

"You have to help us!" a man desperately pleaded him.

"I don't know what I can do," Tails panicked. He's never been in a situation like this by himself.

Everyone's fate resting on his young shoulders had him shaken to the core. _The fate of Station Square depends on me,_ he thought. _I wish Sonic were here. He'd know what to do._

Time was running out quickly and something had to be done. Despite the enormous amount of pressure on him, Tails made a fist and took charge. He spun his tails and flew up to the building where the missile rested, waiting to explode. Everyone was feeding him words of encouragement. Tails reached the missile and quickly opened the panel where many multicolored wires were exposed. While he figured a way to disarm it, he thought to himself, _I've come a long way since this whole journey started. I have to see this as another test to prove I'm ready to stand on my own two feet. _"Okay, here we go," he said. "I have to make sure I cut the right wire; otherwise, this thing will blow. I'm pretty good with machines, so this should be easy."

With the clock racing, everyone waiting in hope, and beads of sweat running down his head, Tails acted on pure instinct and quickly snipped a red wire with a pair of clippers. The timer instantly stopped at less than 3 minutes, shutting the missile permanently down. "I did it!" he cried with joy.

_Yyyaaaaaayyyyyyy! _everybody cheered.

The whole crowd was in an uproar with cheers and claps. Unfortunately, that was about to come to a screeching halt. Unbeknownst to everyone, Eggman never left and had been watching from a safe distance. Tails' cheers and praises soon came to a stop when he spotted something else stirring in the ocean. The people saw it too and seized with fear when another giant platform rose out of the stirring waters. Standing on top of it was Eggman, riding in a giant, armored mech supported by four large, robotic, spider-like legs. It had a flamethrower mounted on its right and a missile launcher on the left. Jet boosters underneath the mech shot out and sprung the war machine into the air where it landed in the streets of the city. The machine had been named the Egg Walker. Eggman glared his eyes down at Tails. They were filled with a hatred that only Sonic himself was able to invoke from him.

"I really must applaud you, Tails," he spoke. "You've defeated my Egg Carrier in combat and single-handedly saved the city from certain annihilation. Such prowess is deserving of my recognition. Unfortunately for you, this has also garnered you the hatred I've only felt for a certain hedgehog. The entire city is now at my mercy, but all I can think about is eliminating you from my sight. Say your prayers, my young friend, for your time is nigh."

Though he was clearly afraid, Tails didn't back down from this. "I can't be afraid," he told himself. "I have no choice. I have to stay and fight. It's what Sonic would do. I can do this."

Tails made a fist which Eggman took as a sign he was prepared to see this to the end.

"So, you still mean to oppose me?" he asked. "So be it. If you're so eager to meet your untimely demise, I'm more than happy to send you there."

Eggman marched the Egg Walker towards Tails. The brave fox ran underneath the giant machine as it stomped over him. The walker's centered body rotated and shot forth a mighty stream of fire from its flamethrower. Tails shifted his head around just in time to see the coming inferno and quickly ducked aside. The flames hit the ground and scorched the asphalt, leaving behind a blackened and smoldering spot.

"You've stopped one missile," Eggman said. "Let's see you stop this one!" He deployed a small, but heavy projectile from the missile launcher.

As the missile flew at him, Tails jumped into the air and flew upward just at it struck the ground in a fiery explosion. It blasted away a few cars and heavily damaged the buildings that were caught in the blast radiance. The foxboy remained in the air and looked down as he wondered what he could do stop him. He looked around and saw a small hardware store close by. A idea came to mind and he hastily flew himself over to it.

"Don't think you can escape me, kid!" Eggman bellowed as the Egg Walker carried him over like a spider, in pursuit of Tails.

The brainy fox dropped down at the store's doorstep and rushed in. The store was occupied, but not by many. "Hurry and get out!" he warned the people. "Eggman's coming this way!"

The people weren't sure what to believe, but the loud, metallic footsteps of the Egg Walker that were coming were more than enough to convince them. Everyone, including the manager fled the scene and Tails ran to a shelf stacked with many tools, grabbing a large, red wrench.

The Egg Walker stood outside. "Did someone call for a demolition job?" he joked.

One of the walker's frontal feet glowed with a purple energy. Eggman slammed it to the ground and a destructive shockwave was shot forth. Tails ran out of the store at the last second just as it tore its way across the ground and struck the edifice, bringing the entire structure down in a giant pile of wrecked debris. Eggman didn't see Tails jump out in time and happily thought he destroyed him.

"In the end, Tails, you were always nothing more than Sonic's little burden." he said. "You never stood a chance."

He then turned his attention on the people that were hiding from him. With the only obstacle seemingly gone, the mad doctor was now free to wreak havoc on the helpless citizens. Or so he thought. At the last minute Tails called out to Eggman from above and dropped down on the Egg Walker, with the wrench held downward. Coming down, he jammed the big wrench as hard as he could into the Egg Walker's control panel and managed to severely damage its operating systems.

"What have you done?" cried Eggman.

Sparks and tiny flames erupted from the damaged console and Tails then faced Eggman and said, "This is for Sonic!" He spun around and slapped Eggman across the face with his tails. While the doctor grabbed his face and screamed, Tails jumped down just as the whole machine started malfunctioning. Its internal systems had been crippled and parts of it started bursting in flames. Before the whole thing came down, Eggman ejected himself from the collapsing wreck while trying to repair his Eggmobile and flew away in a humiliating defeat. Everyone was incredibly proud and grateful for Tails this time and erupted in a thunderous applause. He had single-handedly save them twice and defeated Eggman on his own.

"He did it!" shouted a man.

"He's my hero!" cried a young girl.

Tails had finally come into his own. He saw defeating Eggman as his final test, and he was no longer the little kid that just hung around Sonic.

"I really did it, didn't I?" he said to himself in an astonished tone. "I need to go find Sonic and make sure he's alright. He'll never believe what I've just been through."

Now that the brave-hearted fox was aware of the potential he possessed, he spun his tails and flew up into the sky. As he soared over the city, the people's cheers continued to echo across the sky. The mysterious light appeared in the sky and watched as Tails flew into the distance.

_He has passed the test, _it said._ Now, he is prepared to face what the future holds for him._


	15. Settling the Score

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 14: Settling the Score**

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In Mystic Ruins, Sonic's unconscious body laid still in the forest's treetops. He had been like this ever since his fall from the Egg Carrier. Fully recovered from any injuries he might have sustained, his body responded with the twitching of his ears and nose. His eyes slowly opened and his vision cleared. Groaning, he sat up and looked at the clear, starry sky that was beginning to show the faint light of dawn.

"Man," he groaned. "That's the last time I go skydiving."

Seeing he's back in Mystic Ruins, Sonic plunged himself from the treetops and onto solid ground. From that point, he look around, hoping to see if Eggman fell somewhere nearby. To his annoyance, he found no trace whatsoever.

"And Eggman got away from me yet again," he moaned.

The hedgehog's attention was soon focused on small, but clear rumbling sounds amidst all the sounds of the wildlife. Figuring this was no natural occurrence, Sonic opted to check it out. He carefully walked in the direction the sounds were coming from and they grew louder and more clearer with every few steps. His curiosity eventually lead him to the glade where the ancient temple resided. The sounds were actually coming from inside the massive construct. While he wondered what could be causing it, the mysterious light manifested in the air a little above him.

"Well, look who it is," Sonic smiled.

He knew by now that any time this entity appears, the circumstances are always important. His hunches were correct. The light spun around Sonic before flying over to the temple. The rumbling sounds ceased and the light phased itself into the structure's mystical interior. Mostly because he had nothing important to do at the moment, Sonic chose to follow his guiding light. The light steered Sonic down a path slightly different than the one Eggman took when he first explored the place. He found himself walking across a narrow bridge suspended above a huge lake of water, all of which were contained within the walls of a massive and spacious chamber. Sonic was certainly amazed by such surroundings.

"Who knew this old temple held such things as this?" he said to himself.

Next, the light took him down the path of a rather long and narrow tunnel. Despite the temple appearing old and withered on the outside, the marvels within its hallowed interior were surprisingly still intact. Sonic was beginning to grow a little bored with this rather long trip. He wasn't used to just simply walking long distances, but his patience was about to pay off. The pair eventually reached the end of the tunnel and came to door way placed into the side of a gigantic wall. On the sides of the door were two serpent head statues whose open jaws were spewing water into the stream the flowed down both ends of the hall. Sonic continued forth and entered the door which took him to the chamber where Eggman made his horrible discovery. The atmosphere in the chamber was same as before, still, quiet, and with the sensation of an unseen presence. The light pointed him at the giant wall at the end of the room, so Sonic came closer to see the reason behind this journey. He looked up and gazed at the wall mural depicting the powerful sea monster.

"Freaky," Sonic looked. "It looks like some sort of sea monster. Why did that light bring me all the way down here for this?"

He turned around to get some answers from it, but the light was gone. "Now where did you disappear to?" he looked around. Instead he heard a feminine voice speak to him.

_When the 7 Chaos come together, beware the wrath of destruction,_ it said.

"Who's there?" Sonic calmly demanded. "Whoever's in here, you can come out."

A light immediately shone itself upon Sonic and swept him away. The next thing he knew, he was brought to a most grisly sight. Underneath a starlit sky, he stood before the burning ruins of the Master Emerald shrine.

"Freakier and freakier," Sonic beheld.

The ground was littered with the still bodies of injured Chao, and red-hot flames were burning almost everywhere. The only one standing in this horrid devastation was Tikal who looked on with such turmoil in her eyes.

"How?" she cried. "How could this happen? You could've prevented this, Father. If only you would've heeded my warnings." She bent down, picked up an unconscious Chao, and held it close to her. Tears were running down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I failed you."

Sonic watched and remained quiet, but couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Tikal gently put the Chao back down and stood up.

"There's only one thing I can do," she said.

Sonic got the sense she was talking to him, but before he could say anything, Tikal turned away and ran towards the shrine. Sonic tried to follow after her, but another radiant flash came down from the sky and retrieved him. Sonic opened his eyes and found himself right outside the temple in the early morning. That sight still lingering in his mind, he wondered what he really saw.

"Was that all real?" he wondered. "It felt like a nightmare?"

His current thinking soon took a backseat when he heard another weird sound. His eyes pointed up and, to his surprise, spotted Eggman flying over him in his repaired Eggmobile. Returning from his earlier defeat in Station Square, the evil doctor was making his way towards his home base.

"Just in the nick of time," Sonic grinned. "He won't get away from me this time."

He immediately trailed behind the unsuspecting doctor, determined to bring this to an end once and for all.

Meanwhile...

In Station Square, Amy and Flick were at her apartment. Amy was sitting by her window with a cup of hot, freshly made tea in her hand. She took a sip of it with her eyes forever glued to her window, hoping to see Sonic somewhere out there.

"Gee," she sighed. "It seems every time Sonic and I come together, something always immediately happens to rip us apart." She took her eyes off the window for a moment and turned to Flick who was standing on her coffee table and pecking at a bowl of tasty birdseeds. "You know, you really surprised me, Flick," she said to him. "Who knew that locket of yours had a Chaos Emerald in it. No wonder Eggman and that nasty robot were after you. What else do you have in there?"

With just one peck, Flick opened his locket. Amy walked over to the table to take a look. Flick's locket also held a photo of himself with two other larger birds; one pink, the other grey.

"Who are they, Flick?" Amy asked. Are they your older brother and sister?"

Flick nodded and looked sad. Amy saw faint tears in his eyes and became worried.

"What's wrong Flick?" she asked, but then something came to her. "Wait, you escaped from Eggman. Does that mean he had your family, too?"

Flick jumped up and down, nodding excitedly. Amy got an idea and put Flick up on her shoulder.

"Alright, Flick," she said. "We're going to go find them. Since you originally lived in Mystic Ruins, we'll make that our first stop. If we hurry, we can catch the train."

With that, the pair ran to the door and headed out.

Back in Mystic Ruins, Sonic arrived at the entrance of Dr. Eggman's hidden base. He momentarily stood there while he contemplated which course of action he should take.

"I'm sure the good doctor isn't expecting company so early in the morning, but what can you do?" he said, and chose his more direct approach.

With a rolling spin attack, he shot himself at the huge, metal doors and smashed them down in a heavy crash. The security alarms immediately screamed throughout the entire base. Eggman was in his master control center. Alerted to the intruder's presence, he quickly turned on the security cameras and a view of Sonic appeared on the screen. Eggman was definitely not in the brightest of moods as of late and was determined more than ever to end Sonic's life. He pressed a button on a panel and his voice subsequently bellowed through the compound's intercom system.

"Sonic," the doctor growled. "You've made a grave mistake bursting into my domain like that. But nonetheless, I'm glad you're here. It's time for us to settle our score with each other once and for all. If you can make it through my abode in one piece, I'll be waiting for you in the lower chambers."

"I'm game," Sonic grinned and sped down a wide corridor.

Dozens of automatic laser guns took aim as he ran through and opened fire on him. So many pink beams of hot plasma were shot back and forth turning the entire area into a death zone, but Sonic easily avoided being targeted as he was too fast for the guns to track. Sonic got to the end of the hall and looked back as the guns that weren't accidentally blasted ceased fire. Sonic then noticed a camera up on the wall.

"Please tell me the rest of these so-called traps aren't as lame as that?" he laughed. "Even you can do better than that."

"You'll regret those words," Eggman said.

In the next chamber, Sonic encountered a duo of floating robots shaped like trashcans with saucer-shaped heads. He was hardly impressed by these clunky-looking machines.

"It just gets lamer and lamer," he slighted.

These clunky machines, however, had a nifty trick up their sleeve. One of the robots grabbed its head with one hand and threw it at Sonic like a flying saucer. The flying head was producing a rather threatening-looking force field. Sonic ran around the room, but the head not only followed him, but it was keeping up!

"Alright," Sonic huffed. "You're not that lame, but that's still not saying much."

He ran over to a wall with the saucer still on his heels and back-flipped off of it while catching the head with his hand. The other robot then charged at him with its arms held out. Sonic threw the head over the other robot and the force field completely rendered it immobile. The robot's headless body automatically faced it's paralyzed companion and charged at it with full speed. It crashed into the other robot with deadly force and destroyed it.

"You're turn!" Sonic shouted.

He turned into a streak of blue light and struck the remaining assault machine like a laser bolt, destroying it easily. Sonic emerged from the smoke without a single scratch and wiped his nose with a smirk. "What else'ya got?" he asked.

Elsewhere, the S.S. Train was racing along the tracks above the ocean, it's destination being Mystic Ruins. Amy and Flick were onboard with Amy sitting by the window, looking outward and seeing everything pass by. She still had Sonic on the brain, but didn't lose sight of the task she and Flick were undertaking. Flick was sitting in the big empty seat next to her, anxious himself.

"We should be reaching Mystic Ruins in the next twenty minutes, Flick," Amy said. "Until then, we should enjoy this peaceful time we have. I have a feeling finding your family won't be easy."

The train then entered a darkened tunnel.

Further into Eggman's facility, Sonic found himself running down a very long, narrow, and empty corridor. All seemed fine until he noticed that his fast-moving feet weren't taking him everywhere. He looked down and saw the floor moving at the same speed as him, but in the opposite direction.

"What is this?" Sonic questioned. "An oversized treadmill?"

Eggman's voice then echoed once again. "Hardly," he said.

Sonic turned his head back as a giant wall, the same height and width as the corridor, dropped down behind him on the far end of the passage. This was no ordinary wall. To Sonic's fright, many large and very sharp metal spikes protruded from its surface. What was even more frightful was another identical wall dropping down in front of the hedgehog; this one being on the moving floor.

"Yikes!" Sonic panicked as the frontal wall quickly ran towards him.

"Goodbye, Sonic!" Eggman laughed. "You're about to meet a very nasty end!"

"That's what you think," Sonic claimed.

He jumped into the air, charged up his Light Speed Attack, and shot forth, ricocheting off every surface of the corridor before flying straight at the spiked wall. The energy produced by this attack protecting him, Sonic was able to smash through the wall without harm. Still revved up, he proceeded down to the far end where the exit was. Eggman had lost his patience at that point.

"Enough of these foolish games," he said to himself.

He got off his seat and made his way towards an elevator shaft and lowered himself down to an unknown location. With no more surprises to impede his progress, Sonic was free to make his way safely through the base, eventually coming to a pair of gigantic, metal doors. Before he could make a move to bust through them, they automatically opened up. Sonic then ran inside to a giant, cylindrical, and spacious chamber. There, he confronted his final challenge; Dr. Eggman himself. The doctor was riding in a giant, red machine with a long and segmented, snake-like body. It had a laser cannon mounted in the front and two large, spinning, spiked wheels on the sides of the vehicle's head. The most fearsome battle mech Eggman had dispatched so far, it was named the Egg Viper. The canopy slid open and Eggman stood up to look at Sonic face-to-face.

"This is the end of the line, Sonic," he said. "You know, ever since I've known you, you and your irritating group of misfits have ruined every one of my attempts to build my Eggman Empire, and I am sick of it. You've stuck your nose in my affairs for the last time, Sonic. Things between us end right here and now."

"Give it up, Eggman," Sonic firmly stood. "When will you learn that you'll never have the power or the resources to beat me?"

The time for talking was now over and Eggman was anxious to rid Sonic from his sight. The viper's canopy closed tight and it rose up. Floating above Sonic, he swung its giant tail down at him. The Egg Viper was powerful, but not very fast, as Sonic demonstrated by easily avoiding its attack with a somersault. Sonic rolled aside and saw the viper turn to its side. He braced himself when the many yellow circles on its segments lit up and shot out dozens of yellow laser beams. Sonic rolled into a spin, and the energy around him bounced the weak beams off him and deflected them at several points in the chamber. Many small explosions occurred from the blast impacts and shook the room. Still in his spin Sonic turned on the offense and flew straight at Eggman, but the sneaky doctor had a trick up his sleeve, too. Just as Sonic collided, a red deflector shield was deployed and repelled Sonic like rubber. Sonic fell backward and was surprised by Eggman's move.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Eggman chuckled. "Good luck getting past my shield."

"Shields were made to be broken," Sonic said. "My Light Speed Attack will shatter it to pieces."

"Too bad I won't give you the chance to use it," Eggman retorted. "Now, FRY!"

The Egg Viper's most powerful weapon, its frontal laser cannon, powered up. A golden halo of light sprang forth, followed by a powerful beam of energy. Sonic dodged the beam and it crashed into a stationary machine, setting off a big, fiery explosion. The thing set off a chain reaction and the whole chamber shook and started to fall apart. All kinds of metal debris fell from the air and crashed all around them. Sonic recalled a similar event in Twinkle Park.

"This whole place is starting to break apart!" he exclaimed. "Are you so desperate you'll destroy us both?"

"I'll survive," Eggman argued. "Can't say the same for you." He swung the viper's tail again at Sonic.

"Not if I can help it," Sonic said.

He jumped over the tail and spin rolled into the air. He flew at the wall and bounced himself off of it in an upward direction.

"The Great Sonic the Hedgehog running?" Eggman snickered. "I don't think so."

The spinning wheels on the Viper's sides dismounted and flew after Sonic like deadly disks. Sonic unrolled in midair and quickly jumped off any falling, heavy object he could find, ascending higher and higher while skillfully dodging the flying wheels. Along the way, he spotted a long, metal pole and grabbed it as he jumped up to a series of metal catwalks. Eggman observed Sonic's highly skilled maneuvers and was grudgingly impressed.

"Nice stunt," he said as the wheels returned. "Too bad this isn't the circus."

He then flew upward in pursuit near the top and faced Sonic. He saw the pole in his hand, but felt it didn't pose even the smallest of threats.

"The game ends now," he said as he powered his laser cannon. He was prepared to blast Sonic at point blank.

_This is my chance,_ Sonic thought.

Still holding the metal pole in his hand, he leapt at Eggman and, with all his strength, jammed it straight into the cannon's narrow mouth. Sonic bounced himself off of the viper and landed on another catwalk behind him. The energy trapped inside, the cannon expanded and exploded in a violent burst of fire. The rest of the Egg Viper's body blew as well and fell to the ground below. What followed was a giant upward rush of incinerating flames that set the whole space ablaze. Eggman rose from the remains of his fallen machine in his Eggmobile. Scorched, but relatively unharmed, he flew upward and faced Sonic, having been handed yet another crushing defeat.

"I will make you pay for this, Sonic!" he raged. "Mark my words, you will pay!"

He then flew upward and escaped through an opening in the ceiling. The whole base was coming down around him and the exit was too high and dangerous to reach. Sonic opted instead to go out the way he came. With his supersonic speed, he ran through the base, dodging every obstacle he came across. Way before long, he exited the facility and sought cover in the forest. He watched as the entire mountain caved in on itself and crumbled to the ground. Sonic covered his eyes as a huge cloud of dust swept into the forest. Once it cleared, all he saw was a massive pile of rock and metal. With Chaos gone, the Egg Carrier ruined, and his home base destroyed, it seemed as though Dr. Eggman had finally been defeated for the last time . Maybe now, things could get back to normal.


	16. Heart of the Robot

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 15: Heart of the Robot**

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In a mountainous region near Windy Valley, Gamma was standing on the edge of a cliff. Since flying off the Egg Carrier, he had been standing in that same spot, not budging an inch. The whole time, though, the same images kept popping up in his memory in sequence. Amy, Flick, Eggman, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Beta. From all these memories, he distinctly recalled Amy's kindness, Eggman's cruelty, his brothers disappearing, and Beta's mysterious circumstances. He then drew upon a final conclusion.

"Dr. Eggman, enemy," he said. "Deleting Master Registration." Then he remembered Amy's last words to him: _You're free from Eggman now! You can now live your life the way you want to!_

"Free," Gamma said as he placed his right hand on his chest. He didn't seem much convinced of it. "Not free. Forever enslaved. Must release."

Gamma contemplated destroying himself, but then remembered the others.

"Other E-Series," he said. "Friends. Must release first. Scanning location for other E-Series."

Through his sight, the gunner robot looked around until 2 targets were pinpointed.

"Closest is Delta," he saw. "Location: Windy Valley."

Armed with a mission of his own making, he activated his jet booster and flew into the sky.

Elsewhere, Amy and Flick were trekking through a forest. Flick was leading the way with Amy following close behind. He was leading her towards the location of his nest.

"I'm sure your brother and sister escaped and went back to your home, Flick," Amy assured him. "We just have to stay positive about this whole thing."

Flick chirped happily about, but was really hoping Amy's words were true. It wasn't long before they reached a particularly tall tree. Flick pointed Amy at it and flew up it.

"Wait for me, Flick," Amy shouted as she grabbed hold.

She mustered up enough strength to push herself up the trunk of the tree. She soon reached a branch where Flick was perched and found a large, but empty nest of straw. Flick saw that no one had been in here for a long time and became saddened again.

"Don't worry, Flick," Amy consoled. "We won't stop until we find them, I promise."

Amy slid back down the tree. After everything they've been through together, Flick knew he trust her and followed.

Meanwhile...

Gamma flew above Windy Valley. The strong air currents blowing fiercely around were too dangerous to fly through so he was forced to land and make his way on foot. The whole time, his scanners were tracking Delta's energy signal. His search was about to end as his scanners saw the object moving towards him. Gamma halted and shortly afterwards, Delta appeared in the sky. The blue robot lowered himself down to Gamma's eye level and faced him.

"Why has Gamma come looking for me?" he asked him.

Gamma wanted this done fast and painless. He pointed his blaster at Delta and simply said, "Must release Delta," and shot at him. Delta reacted in time and launched himself into the air, dodging his attack.

"Gamma traitor!" he cried.

In his anger, he counterattacked by launching 2 heavy missiles at Gamma. The red robot jumped back from the first missile and it blasted the ground in a big burst. He performed the same maneuver against the second with the same result. He then looked up at Delta who was still hovering in the air.

"Not traitor," he objected. "Eggman traitor. I want to free you. Free all of us."

Delta didn't understand Gamma's deeper meaning, nor did he want to.

"Delta is free," he claimed. "Free!"

He prepared to fire again, but Gamma wasn't going to give him the chance. With surprising speed, he flew into the air like a rocket and skull bashed into Delta. Delta was knocked out of the air and hit the ground, damaged. Though he was very reluctant to do so, he knew it had to be done. He pointed his blaster downward and discharged 3 missiles. Delta could do nothing but watch as the projectiles crashed into him. An explosion occurred as Gamma watched with a heavy heart. He lowered himself to the ground and approached his fallen brother's battered and lifeless body.

"Forgive me, Delta," he said. "Not free. Our existence is nothing but eternal imprisonment."

He crouched down and held up Delta. Three wires came out of the fingers on his left hand and inserted them into Delta's head, wiping out his entire programming. A little hatch on Delta's back opened up and a little, white rabbit in a green bubble flew out. The bubble snapped and the rabbit dropped to the ground and hopped away.

"Delta free now," Gamma said as he lowered Delta's empty shell and walked away.

Later on, Amy and Flick's quest brought them to the wreckage of Eggman's base. Amy didn't realize it at first.

"Whoa," she said. "It looks like this mountain came down on itself."

She saw many pieces of metal jutting out in several places and decided to sift through the pile for some kind of clue. She didn't have to work hard, though. Tossing aside many small pieces of rock, she found a robotic arm amongst all the rubble.

"This looks like the arm of a robot," she deduced. "Wait a minute! I think this is Eggman's base! Or at least was. What the heck happened here?"

Once again, Flick's sorrow reemerged. The thought of his family being buried alive was too much to bear. Amy could see the complete sadness in his eyes and didn't know how to comfort him this time. That was until something important dawned on her.

"Hold it," she said. "You escaped from the Egg Carrier. If your family was captured as well, I'm sure that's where we'll find them. Tails said the ship was going to crash into the ocean. It must still be out there somewhere. It ain't over yet, Flick."

Continuing his mission, Gamma's quest had brought him to the caverns within a volcano. There, he was locked in combat with his brother, E-104 Epsilon on a huge, rocky ledge with a pool of magma flowing around it. Like Delta before him, Epsilon refused to have his fate be decided by Gamma. He fired 4 rounds of piercing missiles at Gamma who locked onto them and destroyed them in midair with his own weapons. He then retaliated by shooting 2 missiles at Epsilon. The orange robot flew backwards, dodging the attack and landed close to the edge near a rocky node. Gamma sprung his trap and shot the node, releasing a blast of magma, flame, and light. Epsilon's guard dropped and Gamma quickly shot off 4 missiles that struck Epsilon in heavy blows. He toppled over and the light in his green eyes faded. Doing what he did for Delta, Gamma bent down and inserted his wires into Epsilon's head, erasing his entire programming. A hatch opened on him and a little, brown squirrel floated out in a green bubble. The bubble then flew off, safely carrying the little animal out of the caves.

"Epsilon released," Gamma said. "Searching for units Zeta and Beta. Locations unknown. Beta…"

Though he wasn't sure where Zeta could be found, he remembered last seeing Beta on the Egg Carrier. The chances of him still being there were slim, but it was the only lead he had. He exited the volcano and made the Egg Carrier his next destination.

Amy and Flick were crossing the ocean in a rowboat they got at the Mystic Ruins train depot. Flick sat in the boat, while Amy motioned her arms back and forth.

"We'll get there in no time, Flick," she said. "Things are going to work out. I just know they will."

Sure enough, she looked into the distance and not far away laid what remained of the Egg Carrier, resting on the ocean surface.

We'd better be careful once we're onboard, Flick," Amy cautioned. "Who knows what we'll run into in there."

Upon arrival, they ventured into the ship's interior and were walking down a dilapidated hall. The inside was almost, if not more, wrecked than the outside. None of the lights worked and the whole inside was filled with a very thin layer of fog.

"As redundant as this sounds, this place is a total wreck." Amy commented. "Sonic and the others must've really done a number on it. Maybe this won't be as dangerous I thought."

Amy couldn't be more wrong. After she and Flick passed by an opened and blackened doorway, a pair of familiar, red eyes flashed. Outside, Gamma shortly arrived in the sky and dropped down to the deck, landing in front of the door that lead to the main hall. He activated his scanners and, to his surprise, located 2 targets; one moving around, and the other, stationary.

"Units Beta and Zeta located," Gamma said.

Rather than waste time chasing after the target that never seemed to stay in one place for long, he opted to head for the easier, non-moving target first and entered the doorway.

Since almost all of the Egg Carrier's remaining power had been depleted, Amy was forced to push open a sliding door herself. After pushing it open enough for her to slip through, they entered into what looked like a mini factory of robot parts. "This is creepy," Amy said. As she stood, looking around, she noticed something dreadful. A faint shadow loomed over them. Amy and Flick turned around and, to their utter dread, saw the frightful figure of their once captor, ZERO!

"Not you again!" Amy screamed.

Not wasting a single second, she and Flick mad dashed out of the room. Amy then pressed the door-opening button, hoping it would work. As luck would have it, it did. The doors slid shut in front of ZERO, trapping it inside. At least for the time being. Amy and Flick ran away as far as they could.

Deep below in the bowels of the ship, Gamma traveled down a darkened corridor. Upon reaching the end, he pressed a switch and opened the door. He entered a giant chamber and what stood before him was unlike anything he had ever seen in his short existence. In front of him was a giant, purple machine with several turrets mounted in a circle on its body stationed on a raised platform. It turned around and revealed itself to Gamma as none other than E-105 Zeta. Zeta was not the robot Gamma once knew. Through unknown methods, Zeta had been completely rebuilt as a different machine, but still had properties akin to his original body.

"Zeta," Gamma acknowledged.

"All intruders must be destroyed," Zeta said. One of his turrets shot out a large projectile that aimed for Gamma.

Gamma dodged the missile and it exploded upon impacting the floor. Amy and Flick were close enough to hear the blast.

"Whoa!" Amy cried. "What was that? It sounded like it came from below. We'd better check it out in case the others are there."

Zeta continued attacking Gamma with missile after missile. Gamma did his best to avoid being hit while pleading with Zeta to cease. Zeta didn't speak a word and just kept shooting. Gamma eventually sought refuge behind a large machine, upon which Zeta finally ceased his relentless assault. Such behavior wasn't like him at all. Gamma then deduced that Zeta had been reprogrammed as well, making him an even bigger slave than the others. He prepared his blaster and jumped out. Before Zeta could even take aim, Gamma shot a well aimed missile straight at Zeta's head, blasting it clean off. Now headless, Zeta's body froze in place. Gamma carefully approached and saw a control panel on the platform that worked Zeta's operating system. He performed some work on it and was able to completely deactivate his whole system. A hatch on Zeta's body opened as well and a little chipmunk in a green bubble was ejected.

"Zeta released," Gamma said. "Units remaining..."

Before he could finish his thought, a part of the ceiling collapsed and E-101 Beta dropped down. Like Zeta, he was no longer the robot Gamma once knew. Unlike Zeta, however, Beta had been rebuilt as mobile and more powerful unit. His new armor was black and silver, and he was now a legless, airborne fighter with improved weapons. He new energy blasters were equipped with a pair of sharp, twin-pronged, metal gauntlets and his eyes had been replaced with a single, green eye. He also navigated with a tail rudder on his back.

"Beta," Gamma said to him.

Without verbally responding, Beta immediately attacked him with a blast of yellow energy. Gamma quickly dodged to the side and the blast impacted a wall, blasting it to pieces. Beta then aimed upwards and blasted an opening in the ceiling which he proceeded to fly upward through. Amy and Flick soon showed up in time to catch a glimpse of Gamma.

"Look, Flick," her eyes widened. "It's Mr. Robot!"

"Beta!" Gamma shouted. "Come back!" His jet booster started and he flew into the ceiling hole to chase after him.

Amy and Flick ran over to the spot and looked up. "That hole looks like it leads to the outside," Amy said. "C'mon, Flick, we have to help him. We owe him at least that much." They turned and ran out of the room.

Gamma flew back up to the surface of the Egg Carrier's deck and spotted Beta flying towards the giant, green platform. He followed him there as if that's what Beta had been planning all along. Once he arrived, the two brothers faced each other in final combat.

"Now, Gamma," Beta spoke. "We will see who is the stronger model."

"Beta, stop this," Gamma pleaded. "I came only to save you. We must be released. Freed."

Beta didn't want to hear any this. "Silence!" he ordered and shot at Gamma.

Gamma once again dodged him and returned fire. Beta was faster than before and had new and better defenses. With a quick swipe of his arm, he deflected Beta's missile like it was nothing. He then formed a brilliant, rainbow-colored shield around himself and held his right arm forward with his spiked gauntlet pointed straight at Gamma. He then charged at the red robot in a deadly bludgeoning attack. Gamma tried to move aside but Beta was too fast and managed to cut a small gash in Gamma's chest. Sparks were flying out of it and Gamma feared he was going to lose this battle.

"Beta, stop!" he cried.

"I will not," Beta coldly responded.

He then flew high in the sky and positioned himself for an aerial attack. He fired beams from both of his cannons in quick succession. Gamma ran around the platform as fast as he could to avoid the blasts as they decimated many portions of the platform. Beta then put his blasters together and discharged one, big, concentrated beam. Gamma dodged that one also, but the explosion it created was so big it blew Gamma to the floor. Beta flew back down to revel in his superiority. Nearby, Amy and Flick exited the main hall and arrived on the deck. They saw the light show coming from the front of the ship.

"C'mon, Flick," Amy hustled. "Let's get there before it's too late."

Gamma stood up and faced Beta who didn't have a single scratch on him.

"Beta, please," Gamma saddened. "I'm your friend."

"Gamma not friend," Beta denied. "Enemy. All enemies will fall." He deployed his rainbow shield, preparing for another charge attack.

Gamma was hoping Beta would try this again and was equally prepared for it. Amy and Flick showed up in time to witness the climax of this showdown.

"Mr. Robot!" Amy hollered.

"It ends now!" Beta charged forth. Gamma swiftly dodged to the side and he flew right past him. His back was unprotected and Gamma acted quickly, shooting four missiles from behind. They struck Beta and pierced right through his body, mortally wounding him. His body became unstable and he was on the verge of destruction, but he woulc not go down alone. With the last of his remaining strength, he put his blasters together, catching Gamma off guard, and struck him at point blank.

"Oh, no!" a frightened Amy screamed.

Gamma was fatally wounded as well and didn't have long. Beta's lifeless body hit the floor and exploded into flashing flames. Gamma limped his crippled body over to Beta with a very particular image permanently etched into his mind. It was Flick along with his brother and sister. In his last moments, he uttered his final words with a breaking voice, "Free…now." He then collapsed next to Beta and combusted in a big, fiery burst.

"Mr. Robot!" Amy cried.

She and Flick ran to his side, but the flames were too big for them to get too close. Amidst the flames, however, they were able to see Gamma's left hand placed over Beta's right blaster. Tears were rushing down both of their faces.

"Oh, Mr. Robot," Amy sobbed. You were so good to Flick and I. I'll never forget what you did for us."

Though this was a heavy loss for Amy, something good rose from this tragedy. Two green bubbles floated out of the fire and popped, swelling Flick's eyes with joy. Two red and grey birds appeared in the air and were equally happy to see Flick. Reunited, they circled in the air, chirping happily at one another. Amy happily watched from below with tears of both sadness and happiness. Suddenly, something targeted Flicky and a big, black, metal fist was shot at him. It barely missed and grazed the little bird. Flick fell to the floor and Amy quickly rushed to his side.

"Flick!" she cried.

She picked him up and turned around. Behind them stood ZERO retracting its fist. After what had happened, ZERO was definitely the last thing Amy wanted to see. She gently put Flick and down and his siblings came to his aid. Amy stood up and faced ZERO, her fear of it completely vanquished and replaced with unbridled anger.

"That does it!" she growled. "I've had it up to here with you, you walking pile of scrap! I just lost a good friend and Flick is finally back with his family. I'll be darned if I let you spoil either moment."

Now that she was all fired up, Amy was about to unleash the potential she always kept inside. From out of nowhere, she pulled out a large, red&yellow, mallet-shaped hammer. This was her famous, signature weapon called the Piko Piko Hammer.

"You're going to pay for what you did to Flick," she said with flames burning in her eyes."

ZERO pointed its targeting laser at Amy and shot its fist at her. The fiery, young hedgehog swung her hammer with great force and knocked it aside. She then charged at him, but ZERO had something else in store. The cable its hand was attached to became energized with electrical power and ZERO cracked it at her like a whip. Amy ducked, and ZERO dislodged its other hand and charged it as well. It then spun around like a merry-go-round with the electrified cables flowing with it. Flick and his siblings ducked low and Amy jumped over them like a jump-rope.

"Take this!" she hollered, and threw her hammer straight at ZERO.

The weapon smashed into ZERO with a heavy blow, ending his attack. Amy may had been unarmed, but that was easily remedied. As if by magic, another Piko Piko Hammer instantly materialized in her hand. ZERO was still stunned by her last attack, so Amy ran in for the finishing blow. The Warrior Feather in her hair glowed as she did. In range, Amy jumped up and slammed her hammer down on ZERO's head, crushing it in.

"That was for Mr. Robot!" she said. "And this," she held her hammer to the side. "This is for Flick!"

With all of her strength, she swung her mighty hammer smashed it into ZERO's side. The force was so great, ZERO was knocked clear into the air and flung over the ocean. The green robot crashed with a mighty splash and sank to the depths. With the threat of ZERO permanently gone, Amy's tension and adrenaline rush settled down. She turned back and went over Flick who recovered from the robot's attack.

"Are you okay, Flick?" she worried.

Flick was fine. He and his siblings fluttered back into the sky. Before they took off together, Flick flew back to Amy and chirped to her. Not enough words could be spoken to show how grateful he was to Amy for all that she's done for him. Amy saw that and was very touched by it.

"I was glad to do it, Flick," she cheerfully smiled. "I won't forget you, either. Now, don't you be a stranger. You three are always more than welcome to visit me anytime you wish."

Flick nodded and went back to the others. His siblings chirped their gratitude to Amy as well. After all was said and done, the happy trio flew into the sky. Amy stayed until they were out of sigh. With a sigh of relief and happiness, she departed and was ready to move on with her life with a new perspective on things.

"Life is too short to just be sitting around and wallowing in what you don't have," she said to herself. "If you want something, you've got to fight and work hard for it, and that's just what I'm going to do. Look out, Sonic. I'm going to make you mine someday, and I won't rest until that day comes, even it if it kills you."

With a chuckle, Amy made her way to the rowboat and set sail.


	17. The Beginning of the End

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 16: The Beginning of the End**

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With Chaos gone, the Egg Carrier in ruin, Eggman off licking his wounds somewhere, and everyone's misadventures all wrapped up, it finally seemed like things were settling down and going back to normal. Sonic himself was laying on a grassy hill in a calm and relaxed position. His eyes were closed and he had a smile on his face. The calm breezes were most soothing. He then opened his eyes and yawned.

"As much fun as these past few days have been," he said. "And they were fun, It's actually quite nice to settle down every once in a while. I guess Eggman won't be showing his face around here in a while."

Before he could nod off again, he heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Hey, Sonic!" it shouted. Sonic looked up and saw his best friend, Tails, flying high.

"Hey, Tails!" he greeted. "I haven't seen you in a while. What have you been up to?"

Tails dropped to the ground and ran up to Sonic most excitedly.

"You'll never believe what I just did," he said with glee. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I saved Station Square from Dr. Eggman all by myself."

"Really?" Sonic asked him with amazement. He couldn't believe it, but knew Tails would never lie to him about something like that. "That's amazing, Tails. You're really developing into a great hero yourself. I better be careful or I might be ranked 2."

"What have you been up to all this time?" Tails wondered.

"I think after you handed Eggman his butt-kicking, I sort of finished him off and left his base a total mess. All in all, I'd say it's a good day for heroes."

"The only thing I'm bummed about is that I lost my new plane." Tails dismayed.

Sonic saw the look on his face and felt for him, but then he remembered something.

"Maybe not," he said. "Before the Egg Carrier crashed, I think that big cat fellow may have took it to escape."

"You mean Big?" Tails inquired to which Sonic was a bit surprised he knew him. "I met him a while back after Eggman shot us out of the sky. He helped me out back then. You think he has the Tornado II?"

"Only one way to find out," Sonic stood up. "Let's go pay our new friend a little house visit. A laid-back guy like him will most likely live in the forest somewhere."

He and Tails took off on foot from there, not paying any mind to the dark storm clouds that were slowly invading the sunny sky. Elsewhere, in the forest, Big and Froggy were at their hut, recuperating from their experiences that have transpired over the last few days. Their methods: fishing. Big leaned against a tree sitting next to a stream with his Power Rod dipped into the water. Froggy, who was finally back to his old self and invader-free, sat next to his large friend and eagerly waited to see what Big would pull out.

"It's good to have you back to your old self, Froggy," Big happily expressed. "I'm glad it was that wet monster and not you that was making you do those things."

_Ribit,_ Froggy responded in kind.

"It won't be long before I catch lunch for us," Big said. "Let's just sit back and enjoy." He happened to look up through the trees and saw the storm clouds rolling in. "Looks like we have a storm coming in, Froggy," he noticed. "We better seek shelter."

Not too far away from their hut, the Tornado II laid in disrepair in the stream. After flying Big and Froggy off the Egg Carrier, the plane crash landed in this spot and sustained much damage to its outer body. One thing that was still perfectly intact, though, was the red-colored Chaos Emerald contained within the control panel. For a brief moment, it shimmered.

On Angel Island, Knuckles stood at the top of the shrine. The Master Emerald was in place and the 6 Chaos Emeralds that he brought back with him were placed around it. The storm clouds were surrounding the sky around the island and Knuckles stared at them with a suspicious feeling.

_This doesn't seem like an ordinary storm,_ he thought.

Something behind him caught his attention. He turned and saw the Master Emerald flashing brightly. He looked more closely and in a quick instance, he saw something that looked like a lightning flash within the emerald itself.

"What was that?" he wondered.

Concerned by these strange occurrences he cautiously moved closer. Suddenly, Angel Island quaked.

"What now?" he was startled. "Oh, no! It can't be!"

The impossible happened, Angel Island shook a second time and begun to fall from the sky once again. It roared and rumbled as it plunged through the dark clouds and, before long, crashed into the ocean in a titanic wave in the exact same spot it did the last time. The waters swept across the ocean as the island came to a stop and remained in place, quiet and still. Knuckles was thrown to the ground next to Master Emerald and was out cold.

In the forest, Dr. Eggman floated around the trees in his Eggmobile, still reeling from his earlier defeats. He paid no mind to the storm that was approaching.

"Curse that Sonic," he raged. "I may be down now, but I will bounce back like always, and when I do, he and his little posse better watch their backs."

As he continued down the path he was on, he soon came across a suspicious puddle of water that seemed to be moving around, more specifically, directly towards Eggman. The egg-shaped doctor stopped to take a look and was instantly awestruck.

"Chaos!" he screamed and everything instantly went black for him.

Back on Angel Island, Knuckles woke and rose to his feet, rubbing his head.

"Man," he groaned. "How could this have happened?" He gazed at the Master Emerald. "The Master Emerald is restored and at full power. So why has Angel Island fallen again? Maybe those Chaos Emeralds I brought back with me have something to do with it."

Knuckles then turned his attention to the sky.

"And this storm," he continued. "I have a feeling it didn't just come out of nowhere. I better warn Sonic and the others about this. I don't know why, but I can't shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen."

With that, the red echidna proceeded to gather the 6 emeralds into his sack. With them on hand, he then left Angel Island. A while later, he was running through the forest, panting loudly. He ran further and further until something ahead caused him to come to a slow stop. He approached closer and, to his surprise, he found Eggman laying on the ground completely unconscious.

"Eggman?" he wondered. 'Wow, what happened to him?"

As he leaned over him, he failed to notice that the strange puddle of water was nearby, watching him.

Moments later…

Sonic and Tails were racing through the forest. They felt the land shook from Angel Island's crash and felt it was a bigger priority than looking for the Tornado II.

"Are you sure that was Angel Island we felt, Sonic?" Tails asked him.

"I'm positive," Sonic assured. "Which is odd. I'm sure Knuckles restored the Master Emerald. Something else must've happened and we need to get there fast and find out."

Shortly afterwards, the pair stumbled upon Eggman and Knuckles, both of whom were out cold on the ground. The puddle was gone as well. They came to a complete stop and were shocked by what was before their eyes.

"Knuckles!" Sonic exclaimed. "And Eggman! What happened here?"

Tails went up to Eggman to inspect him. While Sonic watched, Knuckles' eyes slowly opened as he came to.

"Sonic…," he groaned.

Sonic and Tails were startled, but nonetheless, glad he was okay. Sonic bent down to make sure.

"Knuckles, are you alright?" he asked. "What happened? What is Eggman doing here?"

Knuckles got back to his feet. "It was Chaos," he said. "Sonic, he's still alive."

"How?" Sonic said with disbelief.

It was then that Eggman woke up, too. Sonic turned his focused on the aggravated doctor and demanded answers.

"Look who came to," he sarcastically said. "What's going on here, Eggman?"

Eggman had a most disgruntled look on his face.

"That freak turned against me," he growled. "That's what's going on. All this time, he's just been using _me_ to serve _his _own desires. He wants all the power of the Chaos Emeralds for himself, and it looks like he's about to succeed."

"I hate to agree with him," Knuckles grudgingly said. "But he might be right. After he ambushed me, Chaos took the 6 Chaos Emeralds I had with me."

Eggman rose to his feet and marched over to his Eggmobile. Sonic halted him saying, "Just where do you think you're going?" to which Eggman turned and responded, "You numbskulls stay out of this. I will find Chaos and he will pay for double-crossing me." He didn't say another word and hopped into his vehicle. With vengeance brewing within him, he immediately ascended into the sky above and blasted off, far into the distance.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were left to formulate a plan of action, and they really didn't have much time.

"This is serious," Knuckles said. "Chaos gets stronger with every Chaos Emerald he devours. The last time we fought against him, he had 6 and he nearly crushed both of us. If he gets a hold of that last Chaos Emerald, it'll be the end of everything."

"That is not going to happen," Sonic firmly said. "Tails and I already know where the emerald is. It's just a matter of us getting to it before he does."

The plan was formed, but before any action could be taken, a bright and shining light manifested around them. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all braced themselves, Knuckles knowing the most what was happening. The light than shrank itself around Sonic only. Sonic's eyes were barely open the whole time and for a brief moment, all he could see was white, but that soon changed. The next thing he knew, he was back at the burning grounds of the Master Emerald shrine, but something big was happening. The echidna chieftain, Pachacamac, and his clan of warriors had launched their premeditated attack on the shrine. They had come to claim the power of the 7 Chaos Emeralds as well as that of the Master Emerald for themselves. However, the shrine's seemingly only line of defense stood in front them and fiercely denied them access. This defense was composed of Tikal and the Chao. All of them adamantly stood their ground.

"Get out of our way, Tikal!" Pachacamac demanded. "This is our moment of glory, can't you see that?"

"I will not obey you, Father!" Tikal asserted. "What you're doing is foolish and dangerous!"

"I told you," her father explained. "The 7 Emeralds are the key to the ultimate power. Our clan needs this power to gain dominance over our enemies and create a new world for us! You are a part of this clan, and if you continue to stand in our way, you'll be betraying your own people!"

"Listen to yourself!" Tikal cried. "You're the one who has betrayed us and our way of life! Don't you see that what you're doing is causing nothing but pain and suffering? Your selfish ambitions and your lust for power are leading us down a path of self-destruction. Turn back, Father. You can still stop this. Please, before it's too late. I beg you!"

Pachacamac had enough of this. He was ready to proceed with his plan, regardless of the severe consequences they might inflict. "Enough!" he ordered. "I will not be swayed by the words of a child! Our clan has spoken, Tikal. We will seize those emeralds and no one is going to stop us. Not even you. Warriors, attack!"

Pachacamac held his spear forward and at his command, the other echidnas charged forth, straight at Tikal and the Chao. Tikal screamed for her father as she was brutally brought down by the barreling warriors. The Chao let out little cries of pain as they were helplessly knocked aside, too. The water flowing from the shrine aggressively rippled in response to their cries. Pachacamac joined the others and ran past Tikal who laid there on the ground. The 7 Chaos Emeralds gravitated towards the Master Emerald and revolved around it, glowing with powerful energy. The atmosphere within crackled with power as the echidnas reached the top and bore witness to the ultimate power that laid before them. Pachacamac moved towards the front of the group to feast his eyes on such splendor. His eyes widened and his heart pounded, but his excitement, as well as that of the others, soon came crashing down. A puddle suddenly slid from behind the Master Emerald and faced the invaders. To the echidnas' utter horror, the puddle morphed into the dreaded and enraged form of Chaos 0, a creature none of them had ever heard of or laid eyes on until that night.

Pachacamac and the others backed away in fright. "What is that thing?" He wondered, horrified.

"It's a monster!" cried one of the echidnas.

Chaos 0 prepared to attack and spread his arms out. The light from the Chaos Emeralds grew more intense as the beast drew upon their power. The echidnas all screamed in terror as a mighty wave of light radiated from the powerful gemstones. It shot out in every direction from the top of the shrine. It took a moment for the power to settle down, but when it did, the unthinkable had happened. Chaos 0, the Chaos Emeralds, and all of the echidnas were gone. Not a single trace of them was left in its wake. All that remained were the devastation left from the attack and the Master Emerald. From a safe distance, Sonic had bore witness to the entire event and was left speechless. That is until his saw Tikal still laying on the ground. He ran to her side and crouch down to lend his aid.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Tikal replied.

Once she got to her feet, she mournfully looked at the destruction her tribe has wrought.

"I knew this would end in catastrophe," she cried. "Why, Father? Why didn't you listen to me?"

Everything Tikal held dear was now in ruins. Chaos had transformed into something horrifying and was in the far distance, inflicting his wrath in the most terrible ways imaginable. His mournful and shrilling roar was heard through the air. With nothing left in this world for her, she enacted one final and drastic course of action. Sonic observed her racing to the shrine and up the stairs. He was curious about what her plan was and followed her. Tikal stood at the top of the shrine and went over to the Master Emerald.

"There's nothing left anymore," she sorrowed. "I have to put an end to all this."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked her.

Tikal looked back at Sonic and put her hands together in a prayer-like fashion.

"Listen closely," she instructed him. " 'The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power. Power enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the Chaos.' I finally understand what the Great Emerald has been telling me this whole time. Its our hearts and minds that influence the energy of the 7 Emeralds and change them into power. This one emerald is the master that controls the flow of power. Please, you must stop Chaos!"

The Master Emerald heard Tikal's pleas and was forced to act. Tikal opened her arms in response as the giant gem unleashed a massive wave of incredible power. This energy spread out over a vast distance and blanketed the entire land in a bright and shining mantle. This was almost too much for Sonic to handle. Fortunately, the light had whisked him away before anything else happened. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into the eyes of Tails. He was back in the forest as if nothing had happened.

"Sonic," Tails worried. "Snap out of it?"

"Tails?" Sonic blinked. "I'm back? Have I been standing here this whole time?"

"Yeah, and with this sort of blank look on your face. Knuckles left to go track down Chaos and told us to go recover the last Chaos Emerald. It should still be inside the Tornado II."

"Let's get cracking," Sonic said.

They didn't have a moment to lose and quickly sped off. It wasn't very long before they finally found the stream where Tails' plane laid. It seemed undisturbed and the Chaos Emerald was still in place. It looked as though everything would work out.

"There it is," Tails excitedly pointed. "But it's a total wreck! My plane!"

"You can fix it later, kid," Sonic hustled. "Just hurry and get the Chaos Emerald so we can plan our next move."

The young fox ran towards his beloved machine and attempted to pull the glittering jewel from the panel. Suddenly, a circle of water swirled around him and the plane.

"Tails!" Sonic exclaimed. "Get away from there!"

Tails was startled and jumped back, falling on his rear. The water swirled around the Tornado II and formed into a giant watery tower. It was Chaos trying to grab the Chaos Emerald for himself, but Sonic wasn't going to let him succeed.

"Oh, no you don't, you big drip!" he ran.

He bravely jumped into the swirling tower and tried to grab the red jewel as it flew upward in it. The forceful swirls of the tower unfortunately overpowered the hedgehog and he was cast out into the air. He managed to safely land his feet on the ground just is it shook. A fissure opened up and Sonic and Tails could do nothing but watch as the tower and the Chaos Emerald both disappeared into it. Afterwards, the fissure closed and sealed up. Tails fell to his knees in disbelief and Sonic remained quiet as a rock. Their worst fears had been realized. Chaos now had all 7 Chaos Emeralds in his possession.

"What are we going to do now, Sonic?" Tails asked him.

Sonic had a tense look on his face. Despite what had happened, he wasn't going to give up and was prepared to fight this to the bitter end.


	18. Station Square SOS

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 17: Station Square S.O.S.**

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The dark thunderclouds were soon seen stretching their reach in the sky above Station Square. After witnessing Eggman's defeat at the hands of Tails, every citizen felt assured they were no longer in any more danger. Life for them went by as peaceful and normal as can be. In her apartment, Amy sat by her window again, but unlike last time, her head wasn't plagued by constant thoughts of depression and Sonic. With her new outlook on life, she was ready to embrace the future. She really perked up when she received a very pleasant visit. Flick and his siblings flew over to her window and Amy jumped up with excitement.

"Flick!" she exclaimed. "Awesome. You guys came to see me after all."

She opened her window, gaining the feathered trio entry. They fluttered into her room and perched themselves on her coffee table.

"What have you 3 been up to since I last saw you?" Amy asked. "It hasn't even been a day yet?"

Flick looked at his siblings and chirped to Amy. She could tell Flick just really missed her.

"Well, the day's only half over," Amy said. "There's a lot of stuff we can do. Now that I'm not focused on Sonic so much anymore, I'm devoting my energy to try other things. I know, Twinkle Park has just finished being all fixed up. Our last trip there wasn't so good and I've been looking forward to a second visit. What do you say?"

Flick and the others were certainly excited about it and Amy went to her bedroom to get something. It seemed like everything in Station Square had gone back to being the safe haven it had been before Eggman struck. However, as everyone learns in life, good things weren't known to last. Deep below the streets of the city, something very strange was happening in the sewers. The water flowing through the network of tunnels started acting strange. It was fluctuating and rising in level. Still, the citizens above were unaware. As the water rose to disturbing heights, a huge rush of even stranger water suddenly came in and swept through the sewers, flooding the tunnels even faster. Flick and the others were still sitting on Amy's table when she came out of her bedroom with her little, pink hand bag.

"Alright, guys," she said. "All set?"

The birds floated up, but before Amy could even reach her door, a tiny tremor shook her room, startling her and her feathered friends. The vibration was small, but still garnered concern.

"What was that?" she shuddered and ran back to her window to see if anyone outside felt that.

Sure enough, they did. Most of the people outside her building were standing around, wondering what happened. In another part of the city, not far from Amy's home, several people were going on as if nothing happened. The various automobiles rolling down the streets paid no mind, either. After a taxicab drove over a manhole lid, the lid shook before it suddenly shot into the air like a rocket by a gushing blast of water. Everyone jumped from their seats and shrieked as several more lids were skyrocketed in quick succession. Towers of water kept shooting and before long, the ground shook even harder. Many cars came to a screeching and dangerous stop when a series of monstrous and very deep cracks stretched through the streets, ripping them apart. The whole city was filled with the shrieks and screams of everybody scrambling to find any way, shape or form of safety.

"What's going on!" is what was on everyone's mind. It seemed like the whole city was under attack by a natural disaster, but was it? The next thing that happened was shattering, literally. The deep gashes in the ground extended their reach to several buildings, setting off a disturbing chain-reaction. Hundreds of windows shattered all at once and the unbelievable happened. Tons and tons of water began spilling out of the buildings like cascades and down to the streets below. Like what happens when you see someone yawn, this "water spewing" happened to many other buildings, one right after the other. The sound of these raging waters drowned out every other sound, but the panic of thousands of people. This rapid accumulation of H2O washed through the city streets at a very frightening rate and the entire city was on the definite verge of an epic flooding.

Amy was freaked out as she saw the water levels quickly rise.

"This is insane!" she cried. "C'mon! We have to get out of here!"

She and the birds ran like crazy to the door. Dozens of people in the building were all scrambling to the elevators and the stair case. With so much chaos going on around them, Amy's heart beat faster than its ever done. She was stuck in the middle of an epic disaster and Sonic and her friends were nowhere to be found. Flick and the other birds were afraid for their lives, but refused to leave Amy behind.

"Alright, get it together, Amy!" she told herself.

She took out her Piko Piko Hammer and slammed it into a wall which quieted everyone down.

"Now listen up!" Amy sternly said. "Everybody follow me up the stairs in a quick and orderly fashion. If you want to make it through this, you'd better listen to me!"

The crowd didn't know what to make of this, but seeing how she had the giant hammer, they kept quiet and followed. Amy directed everyone up the stairs letting most of the women and children up front go first. Meanwhile, outside, the city was looking in even worse shape and the water levels were now at extreme heights. At the top of their building, Amy and a large man helped the remaining people to the rooftop. Amy then went over to the edge and she and several others observed what had become of their city. Emotions were high as their once great city had been reduced to a watery wasteland. Fortunately, it seemed that no one was seriously hurt as everyone sought refuge atop skyscrapers and other tall buildings. Just then, they heard a rumbling sound. They all turned to the ocean and saw a giant tidal wave crash and sweep itself into the city, demolishing any smaller and weaker structure. The whole sky had become shrouded in a thick layer of greenish-gray storm clouds that no amount of sunlight could pierce. The city that Sonic had been fighting to protect this whole time was now in a state of utter and complete ruin. Decimated in a flood of biblical proportions, it was practically a graveyard now. All of which happened in all but a few moments.

At the end of this destructive wake, something strange happened in a particular building not too far away. Water began spouting from it followed by one massive burst exploding from its side. This was no ordinary water as it remained in place. Everyone witnessing watched as it swirled, shaped, and semi-solidified into something hideous. What they saw was something not even their worst nightmares could imagine. What formed was a massive and fearsome, dragon-like head with a jaw line that extended far past behind its closed eyes. Upon emerging, the titanic leviathan opened its jaws. They were filled with hundreds of sharp teeth and its mouth was drooling waterfalls of water. It cried out the most terrifying roar anyone had ever heard and its eyelids opened up, revealing 2 emerald-green reptilian eyes. Empowered by the energy of all 7 Chaos Emeralds, this creature was once known only in legend. The all-powerful, god of destruction, Perfect Chaos.

His nightmarish countenance was a horrifying sight for the citizens to bear witness to. The watery giant disappeared from the building his head was poking through as he dissolved into the flooded streets of his watery kingdom. He then rose from the waters, giving everybody a clear view of his gigantic form. He had a somewhat serpentine body with 2 rows of stubby spines trailing down the back of his neck. His main appendages were two very long snake-like tentacles and the base of his body had a huge cyclone of water vigorously whirling around him. Nothing could be done, but hope he wouldn't turn his attention to them. Perfect Chaos was at a far enough distance away from all the citizens, but that wasn't saying much. Now that he had reached his final and ultimate form, Perfect Chaos proceeded to tear Station Square apart, as if his mere arrival hadn't done a good enough job of that already. With just one swipe of his mighty tentacle, he slashed one tall building into pieces. It crumbled into the water and the god moved on to the next target he could demolish.

Amy and the people from her building all watched with utter fear and disbelief.

"This cant be happening," said a man. "It all has to be a really bad dream."

Amy, Flick, and his siblings stood amongst the people. She had a really fretful look on her face.

_Sonic, where are you?_ she thought. _We need you._

Everyone shuddered when Perfect Chaos roared into the sky. Thunder boomed throughout the heavens above and a jagged bolt of lightning, accompanied by a brilliant flash, crackled and ripped through the air, striking a tall building. A fiery explosion resulted and tons of smoldering rubble fell into the water. The giant then swung his tentacles upward and three powerful twisters of water rose up and spread out. One of them collided with a factory and viciously shattered it pieces before it dissipated. As everyone kept watching with such despair, three little kids; 2 boys, and 1 girl, went up to Amy.

"Sonic's going to come and rescue us, isn't he?" the younger boy asked.

Everyone around her all turned to her, wanting to know the same thing.

"Of course he will," Amy assured him and the rest. "Just you wait. Sonic's going to come and beat that monster. You just have to believe he can. Can you do that?"

"I believe," said the girl.

The other kids responded in kind which gave everyone else a sliver of hope. It was about to pay off for Sonic was currently heading towards the city, blazing down the giant suspension bridge.

"Hang on, everyone," he said. "I'm on my way!"

Meanwhile, Perfect Chaos continued to move through the ruined Station Square like a bulldozer. He smashed one building with his left tentacle and rammed his head through another. He then came to a the Casinopolis building and many other ruined edifices that were blocking his way. The owner, Mr. Benson was among a group of people in a skyscraper, poking himself out of the window.

"Oh, no!" he cried. Not my casino!"

Roaring, Perfect Chaos gave birth to a tidal wave and crashed it into the district, wiping the buildings completely out. After witnessing such a sight, Mr. Benson fainted into the arms of another man. Soon, the beast and everyone else focused their attention on whizzing sounds coming from the sky. With their eyes pointed upward, they saw a squadron of sleek fighter jets zooming over their heads. Each craft bore the initials G.U.N. on their sides.

"Alright!" exclaimed a man. "It's the government's new military force! They're going to take that beast down for good!"

"I doubt it," is what Amy had to say about this attempt, but kept it to herself.

Each of the jets were armed with special beam cannons, and once they were in range, they let Perfect have it.

"Commence attack pattern Sigma," ordered the commanding pilot.

"Let's do it!" another pilot exclaimed.

Violet streams of energy were discharged from the jets' cannons and all of them hit Perfect Chaos. The beams swept around their huge target, but Perfect Chaos moved around as though he didn't even feel them. The aerial fighters flew past him and poised to shift around for another assault. Perfect Chaos wasn't interested and with a mighty roar, he ascended several spires of crystallized water from the surface all around him. They jutted out everywhere with alarming speed and most of the jets returning were hit and busted in midair. One jet survived and shot towards the giant serpent. Instead, Perfect Chaos opened his gaping maw and lunged forward, swallowing the craft where it harmlessly exploded within him. Watching such a failed attack left everyone with only one last hope, but would he be up to the task?

"They couldn't stop it!" cried a man, lowering his head.

"I'm scared, Mommy!" wept a little a girl as her mother consoles her.

"It's hopeless," lamented a woman. "Nothing can stop that monster."

All of this negative air was starting to affect Amy, but when she looked down, that vanished and her eyes widened with joy.

"I don't believe it," she said. "Everyone, look!"

Doing so gave them all the expression had. Sonic had finally arrived! Standing on what was left of a broken bridge, he observed the devastation Perfect Chaos had inflicted on Station Square.

"Wow," he uttered. "Station Square's certainly seen better days. I guess have my work cut out for me."

As much as he wanted to, he was unable to move from his spot. He was like an ant compared to his super-sized foe and he was made entirely of water, his greatest weakness. It wasn't until he saw another building fall before him, that he got his act together.

"C'mon, Sonic," he berated himself. "Everyone's counting you. Alright Chaos! Your playtime is over!"

Back on track, he spin-rolled and launched himself upward towards the behemoth. Everyone in the vicinity saw him and cheered him on.

"Go, Sonic!" cheered the kids.

Perfect Chaos saw him coming and easily swatted him away like a fly with one swing of his tentacle. Sonic fell back to the bridge and looked back up with a discontented expression.

"Why in the world did I think that would work?" he kicked himself. "Better think of a plan B."

While he did, he gazed at Perfect Chaos with this strange sense of déjà vu.

"Wait a tick," he blinked. "That form of his, I've seen it before. That mural I saw. Chaos was that sea monster! I can't believe I didn't see it before."

Such a revelation wasn't going to help him in this situation, though. Sonic was running out of ideas, but help suddenly came from the most unlikeliest of sources. Dr. Eggman had arrived, flying into the city in a second, all-new Egg Carrier!

"Stand down, Sonic!" his voice bellowed. "It's my turn to get even with that traitor!"

Sonic, along with everyone else, was flabbergasted. Dr. Eggman, their worst enemy and the man indirectly responsible for this disaster was now fighting on their side? Despite how it looked, Eggman couldn't care less what happened them. All he wanted was payback against Perfect Chaos. Would his new Egg Carrier II be enough? He was about to find out. Sitting in the bridge, Eggman glued his eyes to the viewing screen with Perfect Chaos directly in his sights.

"As an evil genius, I always have a backup plan," he proudly proclaimed. "That's why I had the Egg Carrier II built. Chaos is toast!"

The mad genius had 4 Eggpawn robots manning the controls.

"All weapons systems are on line, Doctor," one of them stated. "We're ready to fire at your command."

"You're finished, Chaos!" Eggman soundly declared. "No one double-crosses the Great Dr. Eggman and lives to regret it! Prepare to be blown into smithereens! Commence full-weapon strike!"

The Egg Carrier II's wings unfolded and spread out as it transitioned into Battle-Mode. The missile launchers were armed and the nose opened up, revealing a shiny, new power cannon. Eggman wasn't fooling around. A barrage of armored missiles were fired off, followed by the powerful beam produced from the cannon. Eggman watched with glee as he was sure this would end the last minute, Perfect Chaos deployed a startling, and effective defense. A giant, translucent barrier of light projected itself around his entire being and effortlessly blocked and absorbed every attack the Egg Carrier II threw. After Eggman gave it everything he had, it was now Perfect Chaos' turn. His barrier dissolved as he prepared to unleash one of his most devastating attacks. He opened his jaws and a shining light formed within. It was then shot forth as a powerful, multi-colored beam of destructive energy and clobbered the Egg Carrier II head on. The entire vessel blew in a big, fiery blast and the poor doctor was tossed, screaming, into the sky like yesterday's garbage.

"Who didn't see that coming?" Sonic rolled his eyes. "Now how are we going to beat him?"

With the military wiped out, Eggman down, and Sonic clearly outmatched, was this truly the end of everything? Just when things seemed their bleakest, the mysterious light appeared from out of nowhere in the sky and flew straight down to Sonic.

"Hey!" Sonic greeted. "Your arrival tells me you're here to help, right?"

The light exuded a huge, white illumination, engulfing the entire spot. In a most shocking turn of events, the light transformed into a familiar figure. Once the brightness faded out, Sonic could not believe his eyes. Standing right in front of him was Tikal! Right there and now, just as real as Sonic himself was.

"This day is just full of surprises," Sonic said. "All this time, you were the light that's been following me around?"

"Yes," Tikal answered. "For thousands of years, my spirit has always been locked within the Master Emerald along with Chaos'. Ever since my clan attacked the shrine, Chaos has known only rage, hate, and sadness. If this continues, he will use the dark energy of the 7 Emeralds to destroy all life on the planet."

Speaking of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic and Tikal watched as all 7 of them floated above Perfect Chaos in a revolving circle before spreading out and dropping into the city in separate locations. One of them fell to the roof of Amy's apartment building and plopped by her feet. For a brief moment, the Chaos Emerald shined before its light diffused and it became a dull-colored, useless rock. Amy picked it up and wondered what this meant.

"Look," Tikal cried. "Chaos has now drained all of the emeralds of their power. There's only one way we can end all of this. You must seal Chaos in the Master Emerald now, the way I did."

"And then what?" Sonic argued. "Just so the same thing can happen again? quelling the beast is the only way this cycle will end."

"But how can we?" Tikal wondered.

They didn't know it yet, but the answer to their problem was about to reveal itself. Tails, Knuckles, and Big appeared in the city in different locations, each standing over one of the Chaos Emeralds.

"Hey, Sonic!" Amy called out.

She had found a way off of her building and to the bridge Sonic and Tikal were planted on. Followed by Flick and his siblings and with the Chaos Emerald in her hand, she anxiously ran to him. "Here, take this," she handed him the emerald.

Sonic smiled at her and warmly said, "Thanks, Amy." Amy couldn't recall the last time Sonic looked at her like that and nearly melted on the spot, but the moment was ruined by Tails and the others' untimely arrival. He, Knuckles, and Big were carrying 5 more of the Chaos Emeralds.

"Hey!" Sonic smiled. "You're all here!"

"Chaos only absorbed the negative powers of the Chaos Emeralds," Tails explained. "Sonic, if you use the positive powers, you can beat him."

"I think Tails is right about this," Knuckles added. "After all, you're better suited for the job."

Big went up to Sonic, holding one of the emeralds in his hand.

"I wanted to thank you for helping Froggy and me," he said. "You can have the pretty rock that we found."

"Thanks, everyone," is what Sonic felt. Everyone came to support him.

They had six of the seven Chaos Emeralds, but where was the last? Once again, help came from the most unexpected. Eggman was in the sky above their heads, holding the last emerald. With much reluctance and without saying he word, he threw the jewel down to Sonic who caught it in his hand. Now, Sonic all 7 Chaos Emeralds in his possession, but there was still one more problem. The emeralds still didn't have any power in them. It was now time for the citizens of Station Square to lend their assistance. All of them witnessed Sonic make his final stand and went on to voice their support in the best way they knew how.

"Go, Sonic!" cheered a group of kids.

This was quickly followed by the adults and then the whole city. Sonic's name was shouted throughout Station Square with much positive energy behind it. In a spectacular display, the Chaos Emerald resonated with their cheers and their light was restored to full shine. They levitated out of Sonic's arms and revolved around him in wide circle. Sonic was then hoisted up in the air by their mystical energy and showered in a glittering, golden light. Within this beautiful display, a miraculous transformation took place. As Sonic's body was imbued with Chaos power, his cobalt blue color changed into a shining, golden-yellow. All of his quills pointed upward, the greens of his eyes shifted to a bright, reddish shade, and a flame-like aura of golden light enclosed him. Once the golden radiance faded enough for everyone to see, they saw what Sonic had become. Practically godlike himself now, Sonic was transformed into a being of unlimited power - the all-powerful Super Sonic! Tikal couldn't believe her very eyes since she's never seen this side of the Chaos Emeralds before.

"It's so beautiful," she gasped. "Is this the true power of the Chaos Emeralds? I always thought their power came from only hate and sadness."

"Negative forces aren't the only way to empower the emeralds," Knuckles said.

"That's right," Tails adds. "Our positive feelings towards each other are what's creating this awesome power. Friendship is a powerful thing and that's how Sonic's going to win this fight."

Brimming with incredible energy, Super Sonic grinned and shot up into the sky. From his vantage point, he faced Perfect Chaos who in turn did the same. The epic, final battle between these two super-powered titans was now at hand.


	19. Final Chaos

Sonic Adventure

**Chapter 18: Final Chaos**

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Everyone, including Sonic's friends, watched with anticipation and anxiety. Who would win in this monumental showdown. Super Sonic was feeling pretty confident since he's beaten Perfect Chaos several times over the course of their history together.

"I'll let you make the first move," he boasted.

"Don't get cocky, Sonic!" Knuckles urged.

"I got this in one in the bag," Super Sonic said, and the second he turned around, his whole body was smacked by Perfect Chaos' right tentacle. He was hit with enough force to send him flying several feet across the sky and crashed through the window of skyscraper. He went out the other side, but managed to stop himself and shake his head. Everyone who saw cringed and went "Ooooohhhh!"

Tails and the others were still on the bridge. Knuckles buried his face into his hand and sighed, "I warned him,"

"Well, he would've seen it coming if you hadn't distracted him, Knuckles!" Amy chided, which Knuckles fought back with, "Hey, Sonic doesn't have the luxury to be arrogant."

Tails had to act as referee and break up their squabble. He did so pointing them at the sky as Super Sonic flew back into the action. Rubbing the side of his face, he shrugged off Perfect Chaos' well-aimed attack.

"Nice shot. Now it's my turn."

He flew at Perfect Chaos, leaving behind a trail of sparkling, golden light in his wake. Perfect Chaos pulled back and discharged his mighty breath beam. Super Sonic dodged it and zoomed to the far right, going around the watery titan. He flew inside his body and spiraled up him, eventually reaching his head where he released a wave of energy. Perfect Chaos' entire body exploded in a gigantic splash. As everybody cheered, Super Sonic hung in the air to observe his work.

"Is it over?" Amy wanted to know.

Knuckles had his arms folded with serious doubt. "No way Chaos would fall to attack like that."

Down one end of the city, Perfect Chaos rose from the depths and reformed, perfectly intact. A sight which quelled everyone's cheering. Super Sonic watched to see what he would try next. Perfect Chaos lowered his elongated head and released a cluster of large violet-colored fireballs into the sky which then fell toward the city like meteorites. It didn't take Super Sonic long to notice they were all targeted at him. He focused a protective bubble around himself as they rained down around him. The fireballs that did him, neutralized on impact while the rest blasted apart every abandoned building around him. Once the assault ended, he yelped when he saw Perfect Chaos' breath beam nearly collide with his face, but with lightning quickness, he dodged it at the very last second. Perfect Chaos didn't stop at that and kept firing at him. All the while, Super Sonic kept laughing and taunting him as he danced around the blasts.

Perfect Chaos narrowed his eyes and changed tactics. While still discharging his beam, he swung his head towards the bridge where Super Sonic's friends were. Tails and them screamed in terror as the light from the beam glared off them and Super Sonic instantly zipped in front of them. He then caught the blast head on and blocked it with his own power. Powerful energies and winds howled around them before the beam was eventually diffused. Once the danger was thwarted, Tails came out of hiding and stood up, seeing Super Sonic floating above them with his back turned. The golden hedgehog looked back at his friends and saw they were alright.

"That was close."

"One more second, and we would've been vaporized," Knuckles said.

"I'm glad Froggy isn't here to see this," Big's heart thumped.

"That beam attack of his is really getting annoying," Super Sonic griped. "All I can do is dodge and block it, but I would really like a way to counter it."

As he tried to come up with a way to do that, his right hand suddenly started to glow white. He held this hand up and had a feeling what it meant.

"Moment of truth time."

He made it into a fist and threw it forward. To his and everyone else's surprise, a golden energy beam of his own was aimed forth and struck Perfect Chaos. The powerful god cried out as arcs of light erupted around him.

"Awesome!" Super Sonic exclaimed. "Now that's what I'm talking about. I think I'll call this my Sonic Cannon."

"Figures," Knuckles scoffed. He then looked and rolled his eyes at Amy who couldn't stop making googly and passionate eyes at Super Sonic.

"He is so hot right now!"

Perfect Chaos recovered from Super Sonic's surprise attack and prepared to counterattack. Super Sonic cocked his arm like a gun and was just as ready, but more eager for it. Tails knew exactly what was about to happen and ducked down. Knuckles and the others followed suit and joined him. Perfect Chaos shot his breath beam and Super Sonic fired his beam as well. His beam may have been smaller than his opponent's but it was no means any less powerful and the two colossal attacks collided in the sky with a giant, crackling crash. The whole city was aglow as the beams became locked midair and the two forces behind them refused to let up. More and more force were put into them until an explosion burst like fireworks. Super acted quick in the moment and fired his beam through the smoke. A loud crash was heard and he was sure he hit his mark, but when it all cleared, Perfect Chaos stood with his barrier held up.

"Nice save," he remarked.

"The both of them are evenly matched," Knuckles noticed. "This could take all day."

"My Sonic will win," Amy said. "He's never been beaten before."

The thunderclouds in the sky soon took on a more darker shade and became more agitated with electrical energy. Strong winds started blustering and the water flooding the streets, wavy. Thunderous booms pervaded the air and lighting streaked and crackled through clouds, illuminating Station Square with every flash. The source of this sudden and fierce storm was Perfect Chaos who was tapping into the depths of his rage.

"This doesn't look good," Tails feared when Tikal just showed up unexpectedly and stood among him and the others on the bridge.

"Where did you disappear to?" Knuckles questioned.

"Chaos is plunging into the deeper wells of his anger," she fretted. "As his fury grows, so too will his power.

"Then Sonic needs to stop playing around and end this before it's too late," Knuckles growled.

With his strength enhanced, Perfect Chaos was ready to unleash a new bag of tricks. His eyes shimmered and an orb of water Super Sonic's size rose from the water and to his level. In a startling display of shape-shifting mastery, Perfect Chaos morphed the orb into a life-sized, watery clone of Super Sonic! Everybody who saw this was aghast.

"That's a disturbing trick," Super Sonic commented. "But not a bad likeness."

The clone then flew at Super Sonic and thrust its arm forward, discharging a blast of water. Super Sonic dodged it with ease and delivered a sharp karate chop to the back of the clone's neck as it flew past him. The clone was wasted into water drops and fell down, but quickly suspended themselves in the air. Super Sonic didn't notice, convinced he destroyed it and had his back turned. "Is that the best you can do?" he smirked.

"Look out, Sonic!" Tails screamed.

The clone had completely reformed, but before Super Sonic had time to react, it struck him with a flying kick and blasted him down with a water shot. Super Sonic crashed into the water below and sank beneath it.

"Sonic!" Amy shrieked and jumped up to the edge of the bridge. She was prepared to jump in, but Knuckles grabbed her arm. "Don't even think about it!"

"I have to!" she cried. "Sonic can't swim, you know that!"

"But, Amy, if you jump in there, you'll only get in his way," Tails said. "Remember, he's got the power of the 7 Chaos Emeralds behind him."

Amy lowered her head and reluctantly stepped down. Tails looked at the water with much concern. Deep below, Super Sonic sank even further. It wasn't until he sensed the presence of the clone swimming towards him he sprang back. Forming his bubble around him, he met with the clone head on and erupted in a fighting frenzy. Both opponents threw and dodged several attacks before the clone pulled away and put its hands together. It copied Perfect Chaos' breath beam and fired it at Super Sonic who countered with his Sonic Cannon. Super Sonic's attack cut through the clone's beam and vaporized the watery being. Before he had time to rest, he narrowly escaped Perfect Chaos' massive jaws when he crept up from behind in a snake-like fashion. He swam up and emerged from the water much to everyone's relief.

"He's okay!" Tails and Amy exclaimed.

A tentacle shot out of the water and caught the hedgehog by surprise. Smacked, he was knocked through the air, but managed to stop himself on the rooftop of a small building. Perfect Chaos reappeared shortly afterward, but now his body had a dark and gloomy aura flowing around it and the storm was even more fierce than ever. The chaos god cried and a giant lightning bolt crashed from the sky and into the building. Super Sonic leapt up just it crumbled away beneath him, but then a towering water twister rose up around him. As he yelled out and spun around it violent force, Perfect Chaos released a bigger swarm of even larger, orange fireballs. Super Sonic was cast out and immediately struck full body force with one of the fireballs. Slammed into another building, all he could do was brace himself against the remaining fireballs that hit the building in several devastating blasts. The whole edifice crumbled away, burying Super Sonic alive and the whole city was crying out for him.

Perfect Chaos silenced them with a roar of triumph, but then he was silenced by Super Sonic who rose from the rubble. He levitated back in the air, but he was bruised, scratched, and weakened. The huffing and puffing he was doing didn't help things, either.

"I'm not out yet," he panted.

Perfect Chaos was getting tiresome. His jaws opened wide and a shining, orange formed this time. Sonic was prepared with his Sonic Cannon, but wasn't really prepared for what came out of the behemoth's mouth. A bigger, more powerful, fiery-orange beam was shot forth. Super Sonic discharged his energy beam but it was quickly pulverized by the stronger force. "No way!" he shrieked. The beam traveled so fast and he was too weakened to completely avoid it. It grazed him, but had enough power to knock him out of the air and plunge him down to the bridge where his friends were.

"Look out!" Knuckles cried as he and the others jumped out of the impact zone.

Super Sonic hit the pavement with a heavy crash. The dust settled and they saw Super Sonic laying in a near-unconscious state. Amy was the first to dash to his side.

"Wake up, Sonic!" she cried

Tails ran over to them and grabbed Super Sonic by the shoulders and tried to wake him, but had no success, either. Knuckles and Big remained silent, but the look on their faces told they were just as upset as they were. Deep in Super Sonic's consciousness, he was surrounded by total blackness and could only hear the distant voices of his friends.

_Where am I?_ he wondered. _Amy, is that you I hear? And Tails? What's going on here? Am I out cold? Great. What a time be snoozing. Wake up! _

On Amy's apartment building, everybody was watching with heavy hearts. "Is Sonic going to be okay?" a little boy wondered.

"He has to be!" a little girl replied. "He's the hero who is suppose to save everybody. But he can't do it without us. C'mon everybody! Start calling for him. He needs to know he has us behind him!"

The children were fully behind it and started calling out to Super Sonic. It took a little convincing on the adults' part, but watching the young ones not giving up hope drove them to join in. Like what happened before the whole city was shouting for him. Knuckles and everyone else observed the storm of positive energy around them and it seemed to had an effect. Super Sonic's body started to glow in Amy's arms. She held him close and whispered something in his ear, something she's never said out loud before. Then, a tear dropped from her eye and fell onto Super Sonic.

_Did she just…Did she just say what I thought she said? _

The darkness was then swallowed by a powerful white light and his whole body was aglow with an energetic golden light. They all watched, speechless, but quickly turned when they heard Perfect Chaos' roar. The beast didn't know exactly what was going on, nor did he want to and heaved his breath beam directly at the bridge. Tails and them braced themselves, but a golden barrier suddenly sprang up around and completely absorbed the blast. The 7 Chaos Emeralds came together just as Super Sonic's eyes shot open. Amy as well as the others were beyond words of happiness. Super Sonic stood up with the Chaos Emeralds revolving around him. He looked up at Perfect Chaos with a certain seriousness in his eyes, but with his trademark grin. He then jumped and levitated back into the air with the Chaos Emeralds still around him. Rejuvenated with newfound power, his aura was changed from a flaming golden one to an awesome, blazing, blue one. Perfect Chaos' reptilian eyes tightened with a certain degree of fear behind them.

"Sonic appears to have the upper hand now," Knuckles remarked and then looked at Amy. "What exactly did you say to him?

"I'll never tell," she wiped her eyes. "I'm just glad he's okay."

"This new wave of positive energy has given Sonic a much needed boost," Tails said. "Chaos doesn't stand a chance now."

"Let's hope so," Tikal prayed.

Perfect Chaos watched the incredible light radiating from his powerful foe. He had no more energy wells to tap into and was the verge of desperation. He raised up eight orbs of water and transformed them into clones of Super Sonic.

"Not this again," Knuckles lamented. "Now there's eight of them."

"Just watch," Tails smiled.

All eight of the clones flew at Super Sonic and encircled him. Just when they all went in for the attack, Super Sonic jumped and struck each of the clones as a golden streak, moving at the speed of light. In the blink of an eye, they were all gone and Super Sonic powered up his Sonic Cannon and fired it directly at Perfect Chaos. Thanks to his new power increase, his new beam had second one spiraling around it. Perfect Chaos deployed his barrier, but when the beam hit, it shattered like glass. The super hedgehog then rolled up and charged his Light Speed Attack. Producing a scream-like effect, he tore through the sky and hit Perfect Chaos with colossal force, striking every part of his body. The watery titan's form dispersed into the water, but rose back up a few moments later, still operating at full power. Super Sonic knew this couldn't go on and that he couldn't be brought down by his power alone. He looked up into the sky, devised a plan and quickly went up into the lightning clouds.

"Where's he going?" Big wondered.

"Good question," Knuckles added.

Perfect Chaos didn't wait around to find out and turned his attention to the citizens.

"Uh, oh!" Tails panicked. "He's looking right at us!"

Out of extreme rage, he summoned forth a tidal wave and directed it at everyone, including Tails and the others. It swept across the waters and just it was about to crash, a beam of light shot down from the sky and sliced the wave in half, negating its force. Eyes were pointed upward as Super Sonic came down with dozens of lightning bolts arcing around him. Perfect Chaos cringed with extreme fear. As a being made entirely of water, any form of electricity was his worst energy.

"This ends now!" he proclaimed and flew at Perfect Chaos, full speed and electrically charged.

In a moment of pure desperation, Perfect Chaos threw his breath beam at him. Super Sonic met it and cut right through it like butter. He reached the draconic serpent and went straight into his mouth. Arcs of lightning crackling and sizzled around him causing the beast to cry out in extreme agony and it almost too much for everyone to bear. In the final act, Super Sonic ended his suffering by unleashing a mighty wave of light. Perfect Chaos' entire body was swallowed up and a massive explosion of light blasted on the spot, illuminating the whole city. Perfect Chaos had finally fallen and the entire city erupted in cheers unlike any before. Now that the battle was completely over, Super Sonic dropped down to a bridge that was higher up where his golden color dispersed and changed back into its normal shade of blue. Tails and Knuckles were the only that were able to join up him up there.

"You were awesome, Sonic!" Tails says.

"You really came through for us," Knuckles said with his arms folded which Sonic replied with a thumbs up.

Nearby, a splash of water hit another bridge and morphed into the form pf Chaos 0, but Sonic and the others soon noticed that there was a subtle difference to him. A group a of little Chao then appeared on the bridge he was standing on. They started appearing in small numbers and happily skipped over to him, gathering at his feet. Chaos 0 looked down at his little friends, his eyes no longer filled with anger and sadness, but happiness and peace. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were watching from above, surprised by this turn of events.

"You never really intended to destroy Chaos from the beginning, did you?" Knuckles asked him. "I guess worked out all for the best."

"Yeah," Tails agreed. "That blast of energy must've expelled Chaos of all his negative energy. So, now, I guess he's nice again."

Tikal soon joined the party, appearing before Chaos 0 and the Chao on the bridge in a bright light.

"These are the Chao you have always protected. They stayed alive for generations and now live peacefully with humans. You have fulfilled your duty as their guardian."

Chaos 0 was very happy to lay eyes on Tikal again. For the first time in over four millennia, his heart was finally at peace and his eyes where shimmering with such warmth. Tikal was equally as thrilled that her friend was brought back to him.

"The fighting's over," she said. "Harmony's restored and life goes on." She then looked up at Sonic with her hands folded. "Thank you so much for everything."

"Don't mention it," he proudly grinned.

She turned back to Chaos 0. "It's time to go," she said and opened her arms to him in a warm embrace.

Chaos 0 accepted his new destiny and joined her. The both of them then floated off of the ground and ascended into the sky above where they vanished in a heavenly radiance. The storm was over and rays of sunlight were beginning to pour into the darkened sky. The light had been returned, but Station Square remained the wasteland it was turned into. While everyone was preoccupied with that, Sonic looked up and batted eyes with Dr. Eggman who was still hanging around. The two of them knew that the battle between them wasn't over and would resume in the future, but until then, the doctor quietly took his leave. Everyone was then left to reflect on the events that have transpired since that fateful day. Everyone that is except Sonic. He was itching to start a brand new journey and departed the group.

"Sonic?" Tails watched.

The blue hedgehog jumped off the ledge of a building and dropped down to the bridge that lead out of Station Square. Tails spun into the air and excitedly went off to join him.

"See'ya, guys!" he waved.

Knuckles, Amy, Big and the rest of the city all waved good-bye to the hero that saved them all. Down the bridge Sonic went, blazing forth with a smile and the newly fresh air blowing in his face. He was soon joined by Tails who flew right by his side.

"Where are we going, Sonic?" he asked.

"Where ever the wind takes us, Tails!"

"I'm with you all the way!"

As more of the sun's rays continued to shine through and bathe the land, Sonic's name was cheered across the winds as he and Tails raced onward, heading for their next exciting adventure.


	20. Epilogue

Sonic Adventure

**Epilogue  
**

* * *

Inside a house which resided in a gigantic and bustling new city, young Tails was in a bedroom, sitting at a desk with a lamp and writing something in a notebook.

_Dear journal, it's been nearly four months since Sonic defeated Chaos and our lives, for the most part, have gone back to normal. Since her home was destroyed in the flood, Amy had to move out and had nowhere to go. I offered to let her stay at my home in Mystic Ruins, but she cringed at the thought of living in the wild, which I didn't. It took much convincing and begging on her part, but she was able to get me to relocate with her to new place in a city called Central City. We now share a house together, but because we are now living among the urban locals, we had to find a way to pay for it. Luckily a lot of tech companies were in need of new equipment. I build and supply them with advanced machines of my own designs and the payoff is pretty big. Still, it has gotten in the way of me hanging out with Sonic.  
_

_Speaking of which, Sonic has gone off on another vacation, but now takes the time to come and visit us every now and again. I don't what happened between him and Amy, but their relationship is a bit different. He's gotten a lot more tolerable towards Amy's advances, but I still don't see anything happening in the future. If I had to guess, it was that thing Amy whispered to him during the final battle that she still refuses to tell anyone. Knuckles seems to have gone through a few changes of his own. He actually came to visit us a number of times. He may still come off as a loner, but deep down, he likes being around us. He was even able to move Angel Island over the seas off the coast of Central City. _

_One new aspect in our lives now are the activities of the new worldwide military force called G.U.N. which is short for Guardian Units of Nations. They have integrated themselves into the nation's criminal law system and even have a special task force designed to deal with the threats of Eggman, who by the way, hasn't made a peep since. No doubt, he's off planning his next big scheme, but if he shows himself again, we'll be ready for him. My Tornado II may be gone, but I'm already in the final stages of completing my third and best machine yet. I won't reveal what is yet, but once its completed, I'll be unequaled in the air. Well, that's all I have to write for now. 'Til next time._

He closed his booked and breathed out a small yawn_. _As he leaned back, he heard Amy's voice calling to him from downstairs.

"Tails, are you coming down or what? Your food is getting cold!"

"Coming!" he replied and jumped out of his chair. He looked at a photo of him and Sonic recently taken and sighed.

"I really need to get out of here."

With that, he went downstairs.

* * *

Elsewhere...Very far away...

In a huge and sandy desert, something massive was being constructed in a secluded area. Dr. Eggman had been hiding out here for a long while and was in the developing stages of a new base of operations which mostly resembled the base of a pyramid. Inside the walls of a completed room, he sat himself at a console of a small computer screen. Taking a break from construction, he felt it was time to get some info on his latest and new enemy: G.U.N.

"This new threat is starting to become a problem," he lamented. "I need to find out just what kind of nuisance I'm up against this time. As if that hedgehog doesn't give me enough headaches already."

He pressed several keys on the console and with his mastered computer skills, he was able to secretly hack into the government's computer systems.

"Excellent. I'm in."

He then accessed info containing various military data files. Opening them up, he found statistics and images of the numerous and advanced battle robots they have developed so far.

"As if these tin cans can hold a candle to the kind of hardware I wield," he scoffed. "Let's see what else they have."

He then came across one encrypted file, but he easily got around that problem and opened the file. What he found nearly threw him from his seat and he just stared at the screen with his jaw hung loose. On the screen was a picture of a middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to Eggman himself. He was bald, wore sunglasses, and was dressed in a clean, white lab coat. His most distinguishing feature was his radical and gray mustache.

"It..It can't be," he softly uttered. "It's...My grandfather. Professor Gerald Robotnik..."

This revelation was a most shocking discovery for Eggman, but...What did it mean?

...

* * *

**End**


End file.
